Dear Neighbors,
The 2013 Legislative Session, 88th Legislature, officially commenced yesterday at noon with a swearing in ceremony for all legislators elected in November. While many re-elected members, like myself, have not stopped working since last session, the new biennium does bring major changes to the Capitol, including new leadership, which I will spend some time discussing in next week's update.
Looking to the next two years, I will continue to work for Chisago County to make government work better and more efficiently for all of you.
One area I have been working on relates to the unnecessarily high tuition paid by Minnesota students at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities campus. Though the U has been cited recently in a Wall Street Journal article as having a top-heavy, excessive administration structure which requires a long-term overhaul, I can identify a quick fix for lowering tuition rates for our Minnesota kids and their parents who pay for it.
(Click here to watch a clip of a KSTP story on the subject. You can also read my thoughts from today's Star Tribune here.)
You see, the U of M charges Minnesota kids and their parents $13,500 for tuition and fees while charging just $18,800 to non-residents. This amounts to a “home town” discount of only $5,300.
Nebraska charges Cornhusker kids just $6,480 while charging non-Nebraska residents $19,240 to attend their school. The University of Michigan charges future Wolverines $13,000 while charging non-Michigan residents $39,000. At the U of M president’s former school, Stony Brook University, non-New Yorkers pay 300 percent more to attend compared to New York residents.
The U of M charges in-state students more than every Big Ten school but two, while the rate they charge non-residents is lower than every school in the conference. The combination of the two makes the U of M extremely unfriendly to Minnesota students wanting to become a Golden Gopher.
This large difference between resident and non-resident tuition rates is the norm, not only in the Big Ten but also all over the country. This is because families already contribute to their local schools in a very large way. Minnesota taxpayers contribute over $10,000 per year to the university for each student who attends it.
The data is clear: Minnesota kids who wear maroon and gold are subsidizing the cost of tuition for non-residents. This non-resident tuition “subsidy” needs to end, and end quickly, as the U of M needs to be more accountable to Minnesotan families who are in need of the help.
This subject is extremely important for two primary reasons:
The first reason is that over 25,000 Minnesota kids attend the U of M. More than 300 of these kids are from Chisago County. In an improving, yet struggling economy, the tuition these families pay need not be any higher than absolutely necessary.
This is clearly spelled out by an e-mail I received just a few minutes ago. I am including it because it speaks so well to the issue of high tuition.
Dear Rep. Barrett,
I read your editorial [in the Star Tribune] earlier today regarding the exorbitant tuition rates for in-state students at the U of M. I believe your article was spot on and this is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately.
I have a daughter that is a college sophomore and her dream from childhood was to attend the University of Minnesota. Because of the cost, she is not enrolled there and is attending a Junior College even though she was a near 4.0 student in high school. Though her mother and I work extremely hard, we have not been able to save near enough for the college education of our daughters as the rate of inflation in education costs has far outpaced our saving potential.
I believe that the U of M is missing out on some extremely talented students as their tuition policy seems to give the advantages to wealthy families who have no problems paying the price and also to economically disadvantaged students who have their education subsidized in many ways, including by the general student population.
Thank you again for your concern on this issue. Please keep up the fight to straighten this unfair and disproportional problem out.
This e-mail is so succinct as to the problems faced by Minnesota families in sending their children to college.
Secondly, this issue is important to families without college-aged kids because the U of M has been discussing a proposal with the legislature in which the University would agree to freeze resident tuition rates if they receive an extra $92 million dollars in funding this year.
Taxpayers should know that a tuition decrease of $2,000 to $3,000 can easily happen without new funding by adjusting non-resident tuition rates upward, which would still leave these rates in the lower third of all Big Ten schools even after the change. This $92 million can be better spent by government or be used to reduce the high burden of taxation in Minnesota.
Today I met with representatives of U of M President Kaler and the school’s administration to find a solution to the inequity in tuition rates for Minnesota kids. This is an easy fix, and together we can fight for Minnesota’s students and families while making government more efficient with your resources.
My door is always open to hear your ideas, suggestions and concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if I can be of assistance to you on any state government issue.
Sincerely,
Bob