In 2010 NDSU Gave Away Over $15 Million In Tuition

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Written By:
Rob Port

May 20, 2011
3:55pm

NDSU President Dean Brescani, who continues to insist that his university is being starved to death by state legislators, made waves around the state when he got an 8.8% tuition increase slammed through the state Board of Higher Education (then, no doubt, chuckled about it on his private flight out to Medora for a retreat).

Brescani said that big tuition hike, which NDSU students said they felt pressured into supporting, was necessary or else the university would have to cut “core academic services.”

But is that true, or does the fact that NDSU is handing out so many tuition waivers to inflate enrollment really at the root of the problem?

BISMARCK, ND – Despite NDSU President Dean Bresciani’s claims that the university is forced to raise tuition because it has been “steadily starved to death” over the past decade, NDSU gives out the largest percentage of tuition waivers among all of the North Dakota University System (NDUS) institutions, leaving its paying students – and taxpayers – to pick up the tab.

Bresciani argues increases are justified because NDSU receives far less state general fund dollars per student than UND and other schools, but at the same time, NDSU grants 20.1% of its total students full or partial tuition waivers, compared to only 13.7% at UND.

Looking at just tuition revenue at NDSU last year, the school granted $15,283,329 in tuition waivers while bringing in $71,211,964 in actual tuition payments. Given those numbers, compiled by NDUS and presented at legislative hearings, NDSU’s waivers amount to 21.46% of its tuition income.

Moreover, although five NDUS campuses reduced the amount of waivers they offered last year, NDSU actually increased its amount of waivers by $2.26 million in 2009-2010, the largest increase of all of the institutions.

In other words, NDSU gave away over $15 million dollars in tuition.

Maybe, instead of jacking up tuition in general, NDSU ought to stop giving away so many tuition waivers.