By Peter Cox

MPR News/90.1 FM

The University of Minnesota is considering raising tuition by 15 percent for non-resident, non-reciprocity students at its Twin Cities campus.

The proposal from university president Eric Kaler would raise tuition for these students from the current $24,986 to $28,734 for the 2019 school year. Students from Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, and Manitoba would not have to pay higher tuition.

Kaler said one reason for the increase is to boost revenues while funding from the state has remained flat. The increase could bring in an estimated $10 million.

“The value we bring, the ratio of what is given for what is paid, is remarkable here,” Kaler said. “We rely on the state for that partnership. And when that partnership is frayed or unable to deliver, we do have to ask students and families to pay more, but they continue to get a great value.”

The increase is part of a five-year plan brought to the Board of Regents in 2015 to increase non-resident, non-reciprocity, also known as NRNR, tuition to $35,000 by 2020.

Out-of-state tuition at the university has been among the lowest in the Big Ten. Part of that was by design. The university slashed NRNR tuition in 2007 in order to recruit more students.