By Josh Verges

St. Paul Pioneer Press

ST. PAUL — Students at Minnesota’s two-year state collegeswill pay less for tuition in the coming years while the cost of a four-year degree creeps up.

Trustees for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system — which includes Riverland Community College — on Wednesday approved a $1.5 billion general fund budget that will freeze community and technical college tuition next year, thanks to a $51 million increase in state funding.

Meanwhile, the seven state universities will raise tuition an average of 3.4 percent after two years of freezes.

However, the price of college will get better for all MnSCU students in 2016-17, when tuitions will be frozen at the system’s universities and decrease 1 percent at its two-year schools.

“We’re sending a very strong message about the commitment to affordability,” said MnSCU chief financial officer Laura King.

Cara Luebke, who chairs the university student association, said four-year students were disappointed they didn’t get a tuition freeze next year. But, Luebke said, “we are very thankful for the second-year freeze.”

Kayley Schoonmaker, outgoing chair of the college student association, said MnSCU had a “remarkable year” at the Legislature. She urged trustees to continue to rein in tuition, which is among the highest in the nation for public two-year schools.

“The best form of financial aid is low tuition,” she said.

Lawmakers boosted the state’s MnSCU appropriation by 8.

2 percent, to $673 million, next year on the condition the system cuts tuition costs for college students.

Even as Chancellor Steven Rosenstone cheered the “remarkable support” they received, leaders lamented an expected $21 million deficit in 2016-17, partly blamed on a projected 1.8 percent enrollment decline next year and rising faculty salaries.

“The Legislature on the one hand was very generous to us, with the $101 million appropriation increase” over two years, King said. “On the other hand, they absolutely told the board the limits of the board’s discretion on tuition. And so the result is we kind of got squeezed on the revenue side.”

Bemidji State University President Richard Hanson said institutions should plan now to address the shortfall. He said he will “definitely” freeze hiring for open positions while evaluating underperforming academic programs and working to boost enrollment.

“It is certainly a challenge,” he said.

Rosenstone called a $21 million structural deficit “manageable” for a budget of MnSCU’s size and two years to work with.

“I see this glass as 95 percent full,” he said.

While freezing tuition, MnSCU’s 24 two-year colleges will raise mandatory fees by an average of $10 next year. That’ll increase the total cost full-time students pay by 0.2 percent, to an average of $5,399.

Most MnSCU university students will see their total tuition and fee charges climb 2.9 percent to 3.5 percent this fall.

Metropolitan State University is the outlier, with a 9 percent increase. A significant fee hike will help pay for a new parking ramp and student center, as well as health services for students. King said students knew the fees were coming.

The $624 overall increase at Metro State brings their total cost of tuition and fees to $7,566, still the cheapest of MnSCU’s seven universities. Bemidji State is MnSCU’s most expensive university, at $8,366.

—Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.