Beginning in 2008, Wisconsin will pay the difference in tuition to individual Minnesota schools, instead of the state's general fund.
June 22, 2007
StarTribune
Jeff Shelman
An ugly battle in the tuition reciprocity agreement between Minnesota and Wisconsin was averted, essentially because of what amounts to a change in plumbing.
With the University of Minnesota threatening to pull out of the agreement as soon as next week, the governors of the two states announced a compromise on Friday.
The reciprocity program allows college students to cross state lines without having to pay more expensive nonresident tuition rates.
For students and parents, there will be essentially no difference between the current reciprocity setup and the one that will go into effect in the fall of 2008. Wisconsin students will continue to pay less out of pocket to attend Minnesota universities than in-state students.
The difference, however, is in how that happens.
Presently, Wisconsinites are charged a tuition rate similar to what they would pay if they stayed at home for college, a total that is as much as $2,200 a year less than Minnesota in-state tuition.
At the end of each year, the State of Wisconsin sends money to the State of Minnesota to cover those differences.
But beginning in the fall of 2008, Wisconsin students crossing the border will be charged the same amount in tuition as their Minnesota classmates.
Wisconsin residents, however, will receive a "tuition reciprocity supplement," a subsidy that lowers their actual out-of-pocket charges.
At the end of each semester, both the University of Minnesota system and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system will bill the State of Wisconsin for those supplements.
The change will be phased in over four years and will apply only to new students. Current students and students beginning classes this fall will not be affected.
Full Story