Three University of Minnesota campuses are experimenting with tuition and financial aid in hopes of turning around a downward trend in enrollment.
Compared to 2019-20, enrollment is down 30 percent at Morris, 16 percent at Crookston and 13 percent at Duluth. Those three will undertake two- or three-year pilot projects that could lead to scaled-up or permanent efforts to solidify revenue at the struggling schools.
Provost Rachel Croson told the Board of Regents on Thursday that the experiments are customized to each campus and will be “dynamic, open and flexible.”
At Duluth this fall, students from eight other Midwest states – including those already enrolled – will pay the in-state tuition rate. The program is meant to replace a reciprocal arrangement called the Midwest Student Exchange Program, which saw key states drop out in recent years.
Interim Chancellor David McMillan said renewing the tuition offer for Illinois residents should make the biggest difference, but there’s potential in Michigan and Iowa, too. The other states are Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio.
“Fifty more students would make a world of difference on our campus,” he said.
Morris
At Morris, the focus will be on financial aid for summer classes, starting in 2024.
Morris already promotes a three-year path to certain bachelor’s degrees, which interim chancellor Janet Schrunk Ericksen called a point of significant differentiation for Morris compared to its Midwest liberal arts competitors.
The summer scholarships pilot seeks to build on that asset, improving student retention and progress toward degrees. The project also should improve opportunities for internships and study abroad, Schrunk Ericksen said, and could get more students to move on to professional schools throughout the U system.
Crookston
Crookston’s experiment concerns the price of fully online degrees. Starting in 2024-25, some of those programs will get either more or less expensive.
The effort is, in part, a recognition that students who take classes online and part-time are ineligible for many financial aid programs. Part-time students also don’t benefit from banded tuition, which makes additional credits free for students who take a full class load.
The U is subsidizing the three campuses this year with $7.4 million to help cover budget shortfalls related to declining tuition dollars. Leaders hoped the Legislature would also pay for a new scholarship program for outstate campuses, but that wasn’t included in the compromise higher education bill.