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Legislative interim committee reviews tuition waivers and campus rate exceptions
Summary
Committee heard the 2024–25 tuition waiver report and a briefing on State Board tuition policy 805.1. Presenters said institutions grant most waivers at campus discretion; total waived tuition was $38.9M (10.9% of $354.5M gross). Members asked for more breakdowns by partial vs. full waivers and campus guardrails.
Brenda (presentation lead for the tuition waiver report) told the Higher Education Interim Committee that, for degree‑seeking students in 2024–25, gross tuition totaled $354,500,000 and institutions waived $38,900,000, equal to 10.9% of that total. She said 42,040 degree‑seeking students were enrolled and 11,193 received a tuition waiver (26.62%).
Brenda said waivers are reported in three statutory categories: statutorily required (7.8% of dollars), state‑board required (4.6%), and institutional‑discretion waivers, which make up the remainder (about 80% of dollars). She noted athletic waivers account for roughly 4.3–4.7% of total waiver dollars and that some large dollar swings across campuses reflect differing institutional strategies for recruitment and retention. "Not all individuals are getting full waivers," she said, and offered to provide a later breakout distinguishing full and partial waivers on request.
David Krebsbach of the University System Office reviewed State Board tuition policy 805.1 and the board's four tuition‑factor categories (resident; Minnesota reciprocity; contiguous states/US nonresident; international). He showed campus exceptions the board has approved (differential rates for specific programs at NDSU and UND, nursing and medical differentials, etc.) and explained that waivers are recorded against a campus's gross tuition charge, so the same waiver percentage can produce different reported dollar amounts depending on the tuition base.
Committee members pressed for more transparency about institutional guardrails for discretionary waivers and asked whether exceptions to board policy should be counted alongside the institutional waivers reported in the waiver document. Brenda said she would research whether explicit campus guardrails exist and provide additional data on partial vs. full waivers and country‑of‑origin breakouts for international students.
The committee requested follow‑up detail from the institutions on waiver practices and asked staff to produce more granular tables showing waiver dollars and counts by waiver type and campus. The presentation closed with committee interest in seeing how waiver use interacts with net tuition revenue, reserve calculations, and the funding formula.
