MN State considers changing tuition policy
Published 7:42 am Friday, October 20, 2017
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota State system may change its tuition and fee policy because of the growing number of students simultaneously taking classes from multiple schools.
Chief financial officer Laura King told the Pioneer Press that the policy hasn’t been updated since it was written in 2000. King said it doesn’t address changing enrollment trends, such as dual and hybrid enrollment.
“We have now students who are enrolling online and they’re enrolling at a college and a university all in the same term,” each with its own pricing structure, King said.
Almost 48 percent of Minnesota State students took at least one online class last year. About a third of those students were simultaneously enrolled in online and in-person courses.
Full-time students pay $162 to $193 per credit at the system’s 30 colleges and $262 to $289 at its seven universities. King said there’s no cohesive policy for what dually enrolled students are charged.
The board of trustees agreed to have a work group study the policy. The group will look into making tuition and fees more equitable and finding a way to charge comparable rates for similar academic programs.