The South Dakota Board of Regents has canceled the Minnesota reciprocity tuition rate, and will replace it with the South Dakota Advantage tuition plan.
Beginning this summer semester, new and transfer students from Minnesota, Missouri and Kansas will receive the South Dakota Advantage tuition rate. This rate aims to increase enrollment by saving students $1,600 annually.
But, the 2,290 Minnesota students currently enrolled at SDSU, including 635 first-year students, will continue to pay the full reciprocity price and miss out on saving that additional $1,600 per year until graduation, Shawn Helmbolt, the SDSU assistant vice president of enrollment said.
Reciprocity, a mutually beneficial agreement between South Dakota and Minnesota, ensures that students from both states paid a negotiated price at all public universities. Though higher than the in-state rate, this price was still more affordable than out-of-state costs.
The Minnesota reciprocity price is $312.25 per credit hour, while the South Dakota Advantage rate matches the in-state tuition price of $259.10.
The South Dakota Advantage tuition rate is competitive with the new North Star Promise Scholarship, which gives Minnesotans with an adjusted families gross income of less than $80,000 free tuition at Minnesota public universities.
Helmbolt says the new plan will only work if current students continue paying the higher reciprocity rate.
“When states are added to the South Dakota Advantage program, there is a financial impact to the system,” Helmbolt said. “The only way that this is feasible for the Board of Regents is to phase them in and recruit more students that will make up some of that lost tuition from the program.”
Helmbolt says students from Minnesota chose to attend SDSU at the reciprocity price and should understand its value.
“We feel that’s a high-value rate for them,” Helmbolt said. “A Minnesota student is paying a strong tuition rate with a lot of value under the reciprocity agreement.”
But, some Jackrabbits from Minnesota are upset they will not receive the South Dakota Advantage rate.
Rian Solberg, a sophomore civil engineering student from Perham, Minnesota, says it is unfair that current students will pay $1,600 more than new students.
“I feel like I am being put at a disadvantage compared to newer students,” Solberg said. “My loyalty to this college is being penalized instead of rewarded. It’s showing me that SDSU cares more about bringing in students and that they don’t care about the students who are already here.”
Students, like Solberg, wonder why there has not been more of an explanation as to why current students will not receive the decrease in tuition.
“At the very least, students like me deserve a good reasoning as to why we should pay more than newer students and an explanation of how it is ethically right to do this,” Solberg said.
Solberg is not alone. Myles Muetzel, a freshman from Renville, Minnesota, says the administration “cares more about profit than anything else.”
Nathan Lahr, a freshman agricultural business student from Sauk Centre, Minnesota, also has grown upset with South Dakota universities.
“Before, I felt as if they [the administration] cared and valued me,” Lahr said. “Now, I just don’t get that feeling anymore. I’m just a dollar sign to them; a $1,600 per year dollar sign.” Lahr now considers transferring to Minnesota, to feel appreciated and valued.
“Now that South Dakota [State] isn’t competitive for me as a student already attending the school, I might consider transferring to a Minnesota school that values my attendance more,” Lahr said.
The Director of Communications for the Regents, Shuree Mortenson, disagrees and says that Minnesota students will stay at South Dakota universities because of the value they offer.
“Regionally, our universities have the lowest total cost for students,” Mortenson said. “Forbes Business named South Dakota the Most Affordable State to Get a College Degree, our public universities have the highest return on investment in the country, and currently, our students hold the second lowest student debt balance in the nation.
George Langlett, an economics professor from SDSU, analyzes this problem from a professional perspective.
“Anytime, in economics and political science, you have a policy change, you have intended consequences and unintended consequences,” Langlett said. “I think the administration was looking at the intended consequences, and I think the students are raising some concerns regarding unintended consequences.”
“When there is a serious discrepancy in terms of viewpoints, I think one of the most important things we can do is simply communicate,” Langlett added.
Although many students are upset about this issue, Helmbolt says they can always reach out for help.
“We realize that decisions like this are challenging for current students,” Helmbolt said. “We hope that current students recognize the value that they are receiving from their SDSU degree and their SDSU experience in the reciprocity program.”
Helmbolt offers students to reach out with their concerns and work with the staff to find possible solutions.
“For Minnesota students who are concerned about the additional $1,600 in tuition,…visit with our admissions office and financial aid office,” Helmbolt said. “Our staff will work with them personally to see what opportunities would be available.”
If students want to express their opinion on this issue, Mortenson reminds them that they “are always welcome to make public comments at any Board of Regents meeting,” or they can reach out online at the Regents contact directory.