North Dakota Colleges Enter "Free Tuition" Arms Race With Each Other
Legislators voice concerns about reactions to Minnesota Promise "free tuition" policies. Discussion points to the need for legislature to create a uniform policy that benefits North Dakotans.
This week, the legislative interim Budget Section held a meeting that has not gotten a lot of coverage in the media - but it should because multiples issues were addressed.
The discussion circles around the North Dakota school’s reaction to the Minnesota Promise “free tuition” plan, which I have written about extensively:
Here is the full video of the March 20th, 2024 Budget Section discussion on tuition policies being enacted as a response to Minnesota (starting at the 12pm mark in the video).
Below are the key highlights of this hearing.
Highlight #1: Bismarck State College President Admits That Tuition Reduction Programs, Including Reciprocity, Create An Upward Shift In Tuition Costs For Those Who Pay Their Own Way
The biggest bombshell of the Budget Section hearing was when Bismarck State College Doug Jensen was asked by Senator Dick Dever whether various tuition reduction programs shift costs to other students.
Jensen said point blank “yes” and went on to say that is how the entire hig…
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