For Minnesota households planning future college enrollment, there is a good chance tuition will cost more, as public campuses facing tighter budgets hope their outreach can keep low- to middle-income students enrolled.
As the Legislature maps out Minnesota's next spending plan, higher education most likely will not see extra funding, even as school operating costs keep rising. During this week's board meeting for the state colleges and universities system, tuition hikes ranging from around 4% to 9% were floated for the next two budget years.
John Hoffman, president of Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College, said it is concerning as he considers his student population.
"Half of our students are first-generation college students," Hoffman pointed out. "The majority of our students come from rural communities, where they have faced educational barriers in their prior educational experiences."
Hoffman emphasized Bemidji State, along with its affiliated technical college, closely advises affected students to manage an efficient course load, which means avoiding taking on classes not key to their graduation plans, as one way to avoid pausing their higher-ed career when costs go up. The potential increases are well above the average 1.7% hikes over the past decade.
In the current budget cycle, tuition levels for state colleges and universities are frozen, and Bemidji State is coming off a 10% enrollment increase for new students. Hoffman added they know it could change.
"We are aware that the number of students who were born back in 2008 and in the years following [is] smaller," Hoffman acknowledged. "So the number of students who are graduating from high school over the next several years in north central Minnesota is going to be down."
To prevent it from becoming another budget problem for the school, he noted Bemidji State will keep emphasizing its value as a haven for transfer students and for adult learners seeking a career change.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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Contributed/Erin HaefeleWhen the garden or farmers market gives you everything at once, the best way to handle it is to return to the fundamentals: roast, grill, bake, pickle, can, dry, freeze and sauté. These aren’t just methods, they’re survival tools during harvest season. Especially grilling. Because it’s summer. And everything tastes better with a little char and a lot of butter.This week, Amy and Heidi talked to Erin Haefele of Green Scene in Walker, Minnesota, "a charming food haven nestled in the heart of rural northern Minnesota where small-town warmth meets big-city sophistication." Erin inspires us with simple preparations to deliciously fresh garden ingredients. And we hear from Amy's friend Beth Friedrichson from Wisconsin, who gushes about dilly beans and life on the farm with chickens and alpacas.Lots of folks phoned in to talk about their harvests, whether it was peonies in Stillwater, garlic near Detroit Lakes, urban front yard CSAs in Minneapolis, potato varieties in Deer River or stuffed grape leaves in Chicago, you had a story to tell. Share yours! This week's community recipe to cook along with us is Onion Pie: kaxe.org/community-recipe-onion-pie-ham-radio-amy-thielen. Give it a try and send us your reactions and photos at comments@kaxe.org!Ham Radio Features original licensed music — "You Know How I Like It" by Jeremy Messersmith.Made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Culture Heritage Fund. Support KAXE by becoming a member today: https://donate.nprstations.org/kaxe/donate -
Emily John PhotographyKAXE responds to the House vote to rescind public media funding and urges the Senate to protect trusted local news, emergency alerts and community programming in Northern Minnesota. -
Nicole Neri/Minnesota ReformerAlthough education spending will increase, school districts will notice cuts to state aid for special education, school libraries and student supports like counselors and nurses. -
Contributed/Pequot Lakes High School via FacebookBrainerd senior Ty Nelson won another triple jump title Thursday, June 12, 2025, as Northern Minnesota 2A and 3A teams collectively won 88 medals at the state track and field meet.
