Calculating the Cost
Tuition and state appropriation make up the operating budget of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. The chart below calculates the impact of potential state appropriation amounts for the 2006-2007 biennium on 2007 tuition fees per student.
The chart's left-hand column represents potential adjustments, based on the 2005 base budget, to the 2006-2007 appropriation. The other four columns represent how these appropriation adjustments will impact tuition fees for individual college and university students.
State college tuition is currently $3,437 per year and state university tuition is currently $4,474 per year. In 1999, the State of Minnesota spent $5,148 per student; the state currently spends $4,002 per student.
| Change in state appropriation for 2006-2007 biennium (in $ millions) |
Tuition impact per year | Change in state college tuition (2007) | Change in state university tuition (2007) |
Change in state spending per student (2007) |
| +$129.9* | 0.0% | +$0 | +$0 | +$743 |
| +$66.5** | 4.0% | +$280 | +$365 | +$442 |
| +$60 | 4.4% | +$310 | +$403 | +$411 |
| +$50 | 5.0% | +$355 | +$463 | +$364 |
| +$40 | 5.7% | +$401 | +$522 | +$316 |
| +$30 | 6.3% | +$447 | +$582 | +$268 |
| +$20 | 6.9% | +$493 | +$642 | +$220 |
| +$10 | 7.6% | +$540 | +$703 | +$172 |
| $0*** | 8.2% | +$587 | +$764 | +$125 |
| -$10 | 8.8% | +$634 | +$825 | +$77 |
| -$20 | 9.5% | +$681 | +$887 | +$29 |
| -$40 | 10.7% | +$777 | +$1,011 | -$67 |
| -$60 | 12.0% | +$874 | +$1,137 | -$163 |
| -$80 | 13.3% | +$971 | +$1,264 | -$258 |
| -$100 | 14.5% | +$1,070 | +$1,393 | -$354 |
| -$120 | 15.8% | +$1,170 | +$1,523 | -$449 |
| -$130.8 | 16.5% | +$1,225 | +$1,594 | -$501 |
*Tuition freeze
**Requested increase
***Current adjusted base budget
Notes
- Tuition and state spending calculations are estimates for illustration purposes only.
- All years referred to on this chart are fiscal years.
- Budget gaps may be made up by tuition increases, cuts in spending, canceling planned initiatives or a combination of various actions.
- Tuition rates are set in the spring by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees, based on recommendations from college and university presidents, consultation with students and input from public hearings.
- Generally speaking, each 1 percent in tuition increase generates about $5.2 million over a year. A 1 percent increase in state appropriation generates about $5.5 million per year.
- Change in appropriation is calculated from adjusted 2005 base budget, which includes a base adjustment for past enrollment growth (Minnesota Statute 135A.031, Subd. 4).
- Tuition impact assumes that tuition would rise by approximately the same rate each year of the biennium. For example, a 4 percent per year increase would mean a 4 percent increase in 2006 over the 2005 rate and a 4 percent increase in 2007 over the 2006 rate, resulting in about an 8 percent increase in 2007 over the 2005 level. Potential tuition increase calculations are based on what would be needed to bring funding for the state colleges and universities to the amount requested for the biennium, the adjusted base budget plus the requested increase of $66.5 million.
- State college tuition increase and state university tuition increase figures are based on the difference in average annual tuition between 2005 and 2007 for a full-time student taking a load of 30 credits per year.
- State spending per student is the difference between 2005 and 2007 levels, based on projected increases of full-year-equivalent enrollment of 2.1 percent in 2007 over the 2005 enrollment level.
