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Student and faculty representatives urge caution on tuition increases, AI use and PSEO pressures
Summary
Faculty, staff and student representatives asked trustees to protect student affordability and campus autonomy, urging caution about tuition increases, the academic use of AI, and a potential race to lower PSEO prices and credential standards.
Representatives of Minnesota State faculty and student organizations used public-comment time to press trustees on tuition, the use of artificial intelligence, and pressures around postsecondary enrollment options (PSEO).
Alex Sondevi, a Metro State library faculty member and IFO treasurer, urged caution about overreliance on generative AI in teaching and research, noting librarians’ experience distinguishing AI-generated or hallucinated citations and calling for guidance for students. Sondevi also urged flexibility for campuses to set tuition to reflect local circumstances, and asked trustees to continue revisiting the allocation framework and model.
Kevin Lundstrom (president/representative role) and other campus staff highlighted structural differences in the allocation model that advantage larger institutions because of economies of scale (for example, section-level enrollment differences for composition courses), and asked the board to avoid shifting fiscal burdens to campuses or accepting a “race to the bottom” on pricing and credential standards in PSEO arrangements.
Student leaders also spoke at length. Kevin Broder (LeadMN) described student association activity, including a campaign opposing cuts to Pell, TRIO and GEAR UP programs and internal governance steps around student pay. Sarah Reiger, state chair of Students United, presented a multi-page set of student consultation findings: she said student leaders generally had been persuaded to approve recent tuition increases after campus consultations but warned that recurring reliance on tuition to close budget gaps is unsustainable. Students United asked the board to press the legislature to honor statute language (cited in testimony as chapter 135A.01) that frames state responsibility for stable funding and a shared cost model between state and students.
Speakers asked trustees to review student consultation letters and consider student affordability when weighing tuition proposals. Trustees asked for timely student input because the board must set tuition for the coming year at or before the June meeting.
