House GOP proposes tuition freeze

12/29/2006

The plan won support from Gov. Tim Pawlenty. DFLers also have ideas to provide some kind of relief from soaring college costs, making legislative action appear likely.


By Pat Doyle,
Star Tribune
Last update: December 28, 2006 – 9:40 PM


With a growing bipartisan chorus calling for college tuition relief, the new House Republican leader on Thursday proposed a one-year tuition freeze at Minnesota colleges and universities, and the idea picked up support from Gov. Tim Pawlenty.


"Our plan will help the average student catch up to the skyrocketing costs ... encountered in earning a college degree," said Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall.

The DFL majority in the Legislature also supports tuition relief but members labeled the Republican plan inadequate in scope and details. While Seifert said a tuition freeze could be financed in large part through cuts in school spending, a leading Democrat said increasing the state's appropriations to colleges and universities is a better option.

"A one-year fix is all well and good, but students go to college for at least four years," said Rep. Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, the incoming majority leader, who dubbed the House Republican proposal "a one-time gimmick."

But the proposal is another sign that some kind of tuition help is likely to be a priority in the legislative session that starts next week.

Tuition has risen by nearly 50 percent since 2002 at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

It rose about 40 percent at four-year schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (MnSCU).

High tuition became a key issue in the legislative campaigns leading up to the November election, and Sertich attributed some of the gains by DFLers to their support for relief.

Schools want state help

The MnSCU plan to increase tuition by 4 percent in 2007 would raise about $24 million in that year. The University of Minnesota plans on a 4.5 percent tuition increase next year to bring in more than $22 million.

Both systems say the Legislature would need to offset the cost of a freeze by giving their schools more money.

"To keep tuition down and services in place would require a healthier appropriation from the Legislature than we've seen in several of the past years," said Linda Kohl, a MnSCU spokeswoman.

The Legislature could impose a freeze on MnSCU, but the University of Minnesota has autonomy when setting tuition. The Legislature could, however, use its power over appropriations to pressure the university to accept a tuition freeze.

"The governor said he would sign that legislation if it passed," Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said of a freeze Thursday after Seifert announced his proposal. While Pawlenty has not proposed a freeze, "he believes that tuition rates have increased too quickly in recent years," McClung said. The governor has proposed a plan that would provide free college tuition to high achieving students.

Seifert said rosier state budget forecasts make it possible to consider using state appropriations to help finance a tuition freeze, but he stressed that spending cuts could accomplish much of the job.

"For someone to tell me there isn't one ounce of fat from top to bottom at the University of Minnesota, I just think it's just not credible," Seifert said.

The university counters that it has saved millions of dollars by reducing the number of colleges on the Twin Cities campus, and that the Legislature cut its budget by $180 million several years ago. U spokesman Dan Wolter said the system would want an extra appropriation equal to the cost of any freeze.

DFL plan

Sertich said that during the election campaign, "We certainly heard from people about the need to get tuition in line." He said DFLers are putting together their own plan for "making tuition more affordable," adding, "It's too soon to say exactly what it's going to look like."

As for the proposed one-year freeze, Sertich said, "I'd like to see something more ongoing." In addition to the tuition freeze, Seifert said House Republicans will propose:

• Allowing student loans to be paid with pre-tax dollars to reduce bills.

• Incentives for colleges and universities to offer more online course work and degrees.

• Bolstering a program that allows high school juniors and seniors to receive college credit in their classrooms.