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State Representative Patti Fritz
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8237
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
INVESTING IN HIGHER EDUCATION IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO
One of the most significant challenges our state faces is helping our students continue their education after high school. Given our national economic downturn and increasingly competitive global economy, the importance of our higher education investments cannot be overstated. We are extremely fortunate to have South Central College in our community, which makes it easier for students to go to school without commuting or leaving home. As an alumni of South Central College myself, I am committed to strengthening our state's investment in higher education, as well as enhancing the facilities and programs offered.
For years, Minnesota enjoyed a national economic edge in large part because of our highly skilled and educated workforce. However, as a result of decisions that have been made over recent years, we have been slipping. One of the biggest accomplishments of the 2008 legislative session is the work we did to make college more affordable for every Minnesota student.
To put this success into perspective, consider what has happened to state funding for higher education over recent years. In the early 1980's, the state's share of public higher education was 80 percent, with students picking up the other 20 percent. For the next two decades the state share was roughly two-thirds of the cost, with students covering one-third. At the time of the 2003 budget deficit, $380 million in cuts were made to the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and University (MNSCU) system, reducing the state's commitment to sharing college costs to 50 percent. As a result, tuition spiked, going up by as much as 70%. After five years of these crushing double-digit tuition increases, we closed the gap with a 12.9% base funding increase last year. However, a large cloud loomed entering the 2008 session because of the Governor's proposal to cut another $51 million from the higher education budget for 2008-09 to help close our state's budget deficit.
We worked hard to avoid these unacceptable cuts to higher education. At the end of negotiations, we succeeded in making a significantly smaller cut of $21.8 million, totaling less than half of what the Governor proposed. Most importantly, we added language to the final bill to make sure the University of Minnesota and MnSCU couldn’t push the burden of cuts onto students through higher tuition or reduction of services. Their cuts must largely be made in administration and non-student affected areas.
As a result of our efforts, MnSCU recently announced plans for its lowest tuition increases this decade. State community/technical colleges and state universities can expect a 2% and 3% increase next year. After five years of increases nearly five times that, this is a significant step forward for Minnesota colleges and universities. The University of Minnesota will set their tuition increases later this month, but due to our actions, is not expected to increase tuition any more than originally planned. We also kept in place a new scholarship program at the University of Minnesota, which was initiated in 2007 for lower and middle-income students to hold down tuition even further for those struggling the most to pay for school. Our re-commitment to higher education means that thousands of Minnesota students will be able to afford college, tens-of-thousands will graduate with less debt, and countless more will attend Minnesota schools to capitalize on our state-of-the-art institutions.
Along with reducing tuition increases, we made higher education the top priority of our bonding bill, investing nearly $400 million in higher education projects across the state, including funding for South Central College. Many of these projects emphasized technologies in emerging fields to keep Minnesota students on the cutting-edge for years to come.
Our college students weren’t the only big winners this year, the long-term economic interests of our state won as well. By staying committed to providing our students with the best opportunity to get the education they deserve, we are preparing them to become valuable members of a world-class Minnesota workforce, keeping our state healthy and prosperous for years to come. I am hopeful we can continue to responsibly phase in more funding so the state can return to the tradition of paying up to 80 percent of the cost of public higher education. We cannot afford to lose another generation of Minnesota's college students to sky-high tuition, crippling debt and even worse, limited opportunities.
News Items
- STATE REP. PATTI FRITZ PARTICIPATES IN START OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 3:32PM)
- Rep. Fritz: Homeowners, Farmers Need Property Tax Relief - (Posted: 2012-05-01 00:00:00)
- Rep. Fritz: Let’s Vote on a Bonding Bill that Benefits All - (Posted: 2012-04-19 00:00:00)
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