Spectator editorial: Border Battle
Minnesota shouldn't blame Wisconsin for tuition differences
Issue date: 1/29/07 Section: Editorial/Opinion
For decades, students from Minnesota and Wisconsin have had the luxury of paying in-state tuition to go to the school of their choice in either state.
However, Minnesota has recently voiced displeasure and has gone so far as to threaten pulling out of this reciprocity agreement because Wisconsin students going to University of Minnesota schools are paying lower tuition than students in-state at the same school, according to an article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Likewise, a Minnesota student going to UW-Madison is paying $1,588 more than a Wisconsin student, according to the article.
To split the difference in tuitions, Wisconsin reimburses Minnesota each year, with last year's amount totaling $6.5 million, according to the article.
Minnesota has also called for Wisconsin to raise its tuition to make the agreement equally fair to both states.
While Minnesota may not agree with the current policy, abolishing the agreement altogether would have negative effects in both states.
Students on both sides of the table would be hurt because schools in each state specialize in different fields of study. After years of paying in-state tuition to go to these out-of-state schools, it would be unfair to ask those students to pay tuition equivalent to that of going to school across the country.
Even though it may seem unfair for a Wisconsin student attending a University of Minnesota school to be paying less for school than a Minnesota in-state student, it is not right to ask Wisconsin to raise tuition to level the playing field. Instead of calling for a Wisconsin tuition hike, Minnesota needs to look into how they can make school more affordable to students in their state.
Reciprocity may have a few holes in need of fixing, but Minnesota should not blame the agreement as the sole
reason for higher tuition than that of Wisconsin.
However, Minnesota has recently voiced displeasure and has gone so far as to threaten pulling out of this reciprocity agreement because Wisconsin students going to University of Minnesota schools are paying lower tuition than students in-state at the same school, according to an article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Likewise, a Minnesota student going to UW-Madison is paying $1,588 more than a Wisconsin student, according to the article.
To split the difference in tuitions, Wisconsin reimburses Minnesota each year, with last year's amount totaling $6.5 million, according to the article.
Minnesota has also called for Wisconsin to raise its tuition to make the agreement equally fair to both states.
While Minnesota may not agree with the current policy, abolishing the agreement altogether would have negative effects in both states.
Students on both sides of the table would be hurt because schools in each state specialize in different fields of study. After years of paying in-state tuition to go to these out-of-state schools, it would be unfair to ask those students to pay tuition equivalent to that of going to school across the country.
Even though it may seem unfair for a Wisconsin student attending a University of Minnesota school to be paying less for school than a Minnesota in-state student, it is not right to ask Wisconsin to raise tuition to level the playing field. Instead of calling for a Wisconsin tuition hike, Minnesota needs to look into how they can make school more affordable to students in their state.
Reciprocity may have a few holes in need of fixing, but Minnesota should not blame the agreement as the sole
reason for higher tuition than that of Wisconsin.
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