UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MORRIS

Check out the portable solar station that powers tractors and shades cows

Michael Johnson — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:00:00 GMT

MORRIS, Minn. — The cows at West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris don't seem to care that they are part of multi-million-dollar research that may change the way agriculture and energy work together. They are just happy to have a cool place to rest while out on pasture.

That cool place is under the mobile solar array that’s on the move across the grazing fields on the University of Minnesota property this summer. The campus already has solar panels fixed in place throughout the pastures that are producing energy and providing shade, but the idea came along that they could create a trailer unit that could move along with the cattle from pasture to pasture. In this way, the benefits of shade would never be lost regardless of the location.

Eric Buchanan, director of renewable energy at WCROC, shared the capabilities of the device, which they call the Solar Shade Power Station, with Agweek this summer. To get to the mobile solar charging trailer, Buchanan drove the university’s electric truck, a Ford Lightning. Parking next to the trailer, Pete Kennedy pressed a button that began to fold and then unfold the bi-fold wings of the array. This place is truly abuzz with electrical research.

Currently, the portable solar array is pulled by an electric tractor, which Kennedy also demonstrated. The compact tractor from Monarch arrived in winter 2023 and has seen increased use around the research farm. It gets its power from batteries that are charged by the batteries on the solar array, which gets its energy from the sun striking the solar panels attached to a former combine head trailer that was chopped and rebuilt by a local shop. The solar trailer has a capacity of 60 kW hours and its panels are equivalent to about 18 kW.

“So when you’re pulling this through the pasture, obviously you’re not tied to the grid, so you need to be able to discharge it someplace and that’s what the electric tractor or other electric vehicles are used for,” said UMN West Central Research and Outreach Center director of operations Mike Reese.

The solar array folds up into itself into a slimmer profile, under 12 feet, that allows it to travel down the road for educational purposes, such as a trip to FarmFest in Morgan, Minnesota, last summer. It’s likely to make a return visit there this year. When it’s fully engaged out on pasture, it opens up like a bird ready to take flight.

“This is really a summer collector,” Buchanan said. The panels open horizontally to the ground rather than at an angle like permanent solar arrays.

The size of the array was based on what was feasible to carry on a trailer, with the most shade production. This setup can easily shade about 20 cows. It sports rear-wheel steering, which was important to be able to maneuver the roughly 40-foot trailer through gates in the rotationally grazed pastures.

The solar array soaks up the sun, leaving a large shaded area below where the cows can stay cool. Research into the benefits of shaded cows vs. non-shaded cows was previously done on the campus. It indicates that those who have shade tend to have lower body temperatures, meaning less stress on the herd. Less stress can mean more milk production, higher fertility rates and the potential for longer life.

Just how else the portable solar array will be used is being researched, but for now it can charge the tractor in the field. The university got the tractor thanks to a grant in order to pull the solar trailer. Buchanan said they could use it for powering irrigation systems or electric fences in the summer. In the winter, the array is parked near the maintenance buildings where it can be used to charge electric vehicles or power a building.

“Brad (Heins) is planning on using it in the dairy pastures all summer,” Buchanan said. Research will be done throughout the summer by graduate students to track forage growth and its effects on the cows.

Heins, associate professor of organic dairy management in the Department of Animal Science, is leading much of the research behind how energy and agriculture can work together.

Their solar systems started out small in 2017 but have gradually grown to explore the capabilities of solar on small and larger scales for residential, commercial and farm applications.

So far, their solar includes a 4kW display that helps power a guest house. A 20kW system powers a heat pump system designed to cool sows and provide heat for piglets. It provides about 70% more electricity than it uses at the farrowing barn. A 27kW array provides the power needed for the swine finishing barn. A 30kW display is located in a pasture to provide shade for a grazing dairy herd. This powers a fast charging station for electric vehicles and helps power the WCROC administration building. A 50kW system is used to electrify the dairy milking parlor. A 240kW array again provides shade in a portion of the pasture for a grazing dairy herd, which supports the university’s electric needs. A 500kW array in the dairy pasture was celebrated in summer 2024. This project, in partnership with UMN Morris, provides shade for dairy cows and generates energy for the campus. The campus is carbon neutral thanks to these advancements in energy production on site.

Ongoing work

While work on the dairy grazing research continues, the shop at the campus is also filled with other projects utilizing robotics. Electric weeders are being constructed and tested. Research is being done and improvements are being made along the way. It’s costly work to try to build these devices and develop them, but it’s work that can lead to a model that farmers may someday be able to buy and use in their operations. The university receives funding for these renewable energy projects largely through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, which is funded with Minnesota lottery proceeds.

“It’s like the electric truck. Not everybody wants to drive an electric truck right away either, until you do it a little bit,” Buchanan said.

But as more and more electric vehicles make their way onto the landscape, the need for more power ramps up as well. This has electric suppliers wanting to understand what’s coming. A tractor is as useful as what it can attach to, so this one already has a trailer to pull, a snowblower, tiller and mower. A road blade is next on the list, so the tractor sees use year-round.

The university is also tracking its energy use on this tractor as it takes on daily tasks and adds tasks throughout the year.

“We installed a bunch of monitoring equipment so as we go and do some of these tasks, we’re going to really closely monitor how much electricity we’re using, when we recharge it, how much is it using,” Buchanan said. The electric suppliers are interested in what effect it will have on the grid if more and more farmers add this equipment. This research will help inform what’s to come.

Getting here has taken time, and more time is needed to make sure these innovations find a place on the farm, but it’s exciting to see how it can all work together, according to Reese. The solar charger is charging a tractor now, but may soon be charging weeders out in the field and endless other possibilities to get where the grid doesn’t.

“There’s all these connection points and the whole system, I think that’s very unique. You know, we can produce green nitrogen fertilizer, we can have electric tractors out in the fields,” Reese said. “All of these renewable energy systems end up working together to improve the carbon intensity of agricultural products and, actually well beyond, through the production of sustainable aviation fuel, e-methanol, and green iron and steel. Since we will be relying on energy generated locally, the goal is that these energy systems will also improve profitability and generate wealth in rural communities."

Agrivoltaics field day

The West Central Research and Outreach Center is hosting an agrivoltaics field day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, June 27, at 46352 MN-329, in Morris, Minnesota. Learn about cattle and sheep grazing, solar site forages, grain crops under solar panels and solar developer perspectives. There is no cost to attend but registration is required by visiting the University of Minnesota Extension website or contacting Sabrina Florentino at slpflore@umn.edu.

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Why does Minnesota lead the country in voter turnout — and which areas lead Minnesota?

Mary Murphy — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 12:24:00 GMT

ST.PAUL — Minnesota has ranked No. 1 for general election voter turnout across the country since 2008, according to data from the Minnesota Secretary of State. How did Minnesota get to the top?

One expert says it may be tied to laws in the state and even the ancestry of its residents.

Roots in Europe may be partially responsible for Minnesota's high turnout rates, said Tim Lindberg, associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota Morris.

“Northern European nations, and especially Scandinavian ones, have strong cultures of civic engagement in the community,” said Tim Lindberg, associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, Morris. “So settlers to Minnesota largely brought that ethos with them, and it continues to matter today.”

Lindberg said civic engagement — for example, Minnesota’s high rates of volunteering — translates directly to voting. He also cited voting laws in Minnesota, such as same-day registration or absentee voting, that make it easy for people to vote.

In the most recent presidential election, Minnesota’s average voter turnout was 81.56%, compared to the country’s average of 66%.

How did Minnesota’s voter turnout vary internally in 2020?

In each county, the Secretary of State’s Office measured the percentage of total eligible voters who cast ballots in 2020. Minnesota mostly fell in line with typical voter turnout trends, such as the correlation between socioeconomic status and turnout rates, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Suburbs just outside of the Twin Cities like Carver, Washington and Scott counties— with, respectively, 93%, 91% and 90% turnout — all came in almost a full 15% above the country’s average.

These higher-turnout counties closer to the metro also have high socioeconomic status, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s most recent data, making them consistent with typical voter trends. But Cook, with 89%, appeared as an outlier.

Cook, Otter Tail, Douglas and Pope counties stuck out as rural counties that showed up in force in 2020, Ramsey appeared as a sore spot in the Twin Cities, and some of Minnesota’s lower-income counties came in with the lowest turnout.

Counties with the highest voter turnout in 2020

1. Carver, 93.8%

2. Washington, 90.8%

3. Scott, 89.7%

4. Cook, 89.1%

5. Wright, 88.4%

6. Dakota, 88%

7. Hennepin, 86%

8. Olmsted, 84.9%

9. Anoka, 83.7%

10. Lake, 83.5%

Rural counties that showed up to the polls

Cook County, all the way up on the northeast borders of Minnesota, had the fourth-highest turnout in the state.

“In Cook County, there are quite a few people who either lived in the Twin Cities and they moved there, or they're (in Cook County) because there's artists communities,” Lindberg said. “There are some enclaves of higher, more highly educated people who tend to vote at higher rates.”

Otter Tail, Douglas and Pope counties — with, respectively, 82%, 83% and 81.8% turnout — are all rural areas that had surprisingly higher turnout rates in 2020. While these counties have a few larger cities with populations above 10,000 — Fergus Falls and Alexandria, for example — Lindberg said the numbers are impressive.

“In and of itself, for a rural county to have a voting rate in an election like that well above 60%, in most cases, is really impressive,” he said.

What’s going on in the Twin Cities?

Why was Ramsey County, which had a turnout of 77.9% in 2020, almost a full 10% lower than Hennepin at 86%? Lindberg pointed to Ramsey County’s lack of wealthier suburbs that are found in other metropolitan counties.

“(In) Hennepin County, which obviously has Minneapolis in it, the lower voting rates that you would expect in a huge urban area with lots of people of color who tend to have lower voting rates is offset by the fact that you also have very wealthy suburbs with highly educated folks among the highest voting populations,” Lindberg said.

He added that institutions such as colleges, mental hospitals or prisons can push these numbers down as well.

Counties with the lowest voter turnout in 2020

1. Wilkin, 69.8%

2. Koochiching, 69.7%

3. Norman, 69.6%

4. Pine, 69.6%

5. Stevens, 69.1%

6. Pennington, 68%

7. Winona, 67.3%

8. Polk, 66.5%

9. Nobles, 66.5%

10. Mahnomen, 61.7%

The counties with the lowest turnout rates — Mahnomen with 61%, Nobles with 66% and Polk with 66.5% — all match the trend of rural areas with lower rates, but Lindberg said there could be other factors at play, like socioeconomic status.

While not true for all of the lowest-turnout counties, some have higher poverty rates, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s most recent data. For example, roughly 23% of Mahnomen County’s population is in poverty, and Nobles and Koochiching counties have a 14% poverty rate.

“The rural counties that don't have that [high of turnout] tend to be the ones that are the poorest in the state because lower economic status is associated with lower voting rates,” Lindberg said, explaining this is most often because of access to education.

Winona County, at 67% turnout in 2020, is another example of a county that could be skewed by having a college campus — Winona State University.

What could drive Minnesota’s voter turnout in 2024?

Looking specifically at rural and red communities, the “DFL trifecta” — a Democratic Minnesota governor, House and Senate — from the past two years could bring people to the polls.

“It was, regardless of whether you're for it or against it, it was a lot of change and a lot of easy targets for the opposing party to say, ‘Wow, they went really far in one, one particular small, you know, legislative session,’ ” Lindberg said. “Republicans might come out, particularly in Minnesota, as a response to what happened in the legislative session.”

As for Democrats, Lindberg pointed to more national trends in politics rather than local ones.

“Even though in Minnesota, we've passed laws to protect it further, turnout could be driven by continuing concerns about abortion access in the United States, and continuing concerns about democracy and what a Trump presidency might mean in that regard,” he said.

The full overview of Minnesota’s voter turnout in the 2020 election can be viewed here.

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University of Minnesota alters budget request for Twin Cities, out-state campuses

Josh Verges / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 18:19:46 GMT

ST. PAUL -- Twin Cities undergraduates could face anywhere from a tuition freeze to a 7% increase this fall, depending on what the Legislature does with the University of Minnesota’s latest budget request.

Budget director Julie Tonneson said the university’s budget projections usually are highly accurate, but they’re off by 3% this year because of lower than expected enrollment. “We simply just didn’t get it right,” she told the Board of Regents on Friday.

Earlier in the week, Tonneson told a legislative committee the university system is seeing fewer freshmen, transfers from other colleges, and graduate and nonresident students while also struggling to retain its own students; and, she said, students who do graduate are doing so more quickly than they used to.

The university initially had penciled in a 3.5% tuition increase for its flagship campus and 1% at the four out-state campuses -- Crookston, Duluth, Rochester, Morris -- and for the 2023-24 school year. But those numbers have been revised to 7 and 3.5%, respectively, in response to low enrollment.

Those tuition increases won’t be necessary, however, if the Legislature approves $88.5 million in new funding for the coming biennium.

The university is asking for $48 million to make up for this year’s low enrollment and another $40.5 million to freeze undergraduate tuition next year at all of its campuses.

The Board of Regents on Friday also agreed to seek $9 million to make tuition free at any of the five campuses – not just Morris – for American Indian tribal members who either live in Minnesota or live elsewhere but are enrolled in a Minnesota tribe.

22% increase

Regents approved the supplemental budget request 11-1 on Friday. Darrin Rosha voted no, saying he supports lower tuition for all students but doesn’t see how providing special benefits to one group “brings us together.”

Regent Bo Thao-Urabe disagreed with Rosha, saying “it’s our chance to do something that is right” for a group that has not been well served historically.

Steve Sviggum voted yes but didn’t like that the university wants $48 million to make up for poor budgeting.

“It doesn’t make me feel good that we’re asking government to take care of our problem,” he said.

The $97.5 million in new money the university is seeking over the coming biennium would be in addition to a $205 million request the board authorized in October to pay for core mission support, a new scholarship program for Minnesota residents attending Duluth, Crookston, Morris or Rochester, and safety and security improvements.

Altogether, that $302.5 million in new money would bring the university’s total biennial appropriation to $1.681 billion, a 22% increase over the current biennium.

Medical request

At the same time, the university is asking for $950 million from the state to acquire and operate four medical buildings belonging to Fairview Health Services as part of Fairview’s planned merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health. Fairview and Sanford are willing to sell, but the parties seem to be far apart on what the buildings are worth.

If those acquisitions take place, the university surely would seek more state money in the coming years to fill out its vision for an academic health center, including a new hospital on the east bank Minneapolis campus.

Regents on Friday were united about pursuing that vision.

“The 5.8 million Minnesotans need to have, and deserve to have, a public academic medical center,” said Regent Ruth Johnson, a Mayo Clinic physician. “That is absolutely vital. This cannot be operated by an out-of-state, South Dakota-based health system that has very different values.

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UMN regent resigns as vice chair after backlash from 'diversity' comments

Hunter Dunteman — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 18:32:41 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS — Steve Sviggum has resigned from his position as vice chair of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents nearly two weeks after asking if high diversity levels at the university system's Morris campus could be a contributing factor to declining enrollment levels.

In a short letter dated Tuesday, Oct. 25, Sviggum submitted his resignation to UMN Chair of the Board of Regents Kendall Powell, adding that it's been an honor to serve as vice chairman.

"After our meeting on Saturday morning, I have come to the realization that I should resign from the Vice Chairmanship, effective immediately," Sviggums letter reads. "I owe that position to my colleagues who have shown disapproval in my actions. I do so humbly and thoughtfully, with knowledge that the success of the University of Minnesota is the most important focus and is much more important than any one person or position."

Sviggum added that he intends to serve the remainder of his term, which expires in 2023.

The resignation stems from comments Sviggum made following a presentation to the Board of Regents from Morris campus Chancellor Janet Ericksen on Oct. 13. During a question-and-answer period, Sviggum opened a line of questioning to Ericksen regarding the campus' downward trend in student enrollment.

After Ericksen acknowledged that the campus would fall short of a 2025 enrollment goal, Sviggum asked Ericksen if it was possible the campus was "too diverse" — a question he said stemmed from two letters he received from prospective students who wouldn't be comfortable attending the campus.

A sense of quiet briefly fell over the room as Sviggum continued to explain the basis of his question before Ericksen said she has no indication that diversity levels on the campus had any impact on declining enrollment.

According to fall 2021 enrollment data provided by the University of Minnesota, 56% of the Morris campus' 1,286 students are white, while 37.6% of students are Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American.

One by one, other regents on the board responded. Immediately following Ericksen's response, Regent Darrin Rosha said he'd be "quite surprised" that any prospective student would hold a "legitimate concern" regarding the campus' diversity levels.

Days later, Regent Mike Kenyanya called into question Sviggum's role as vice-chair in a statement posted on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/_ImClutch/status/1583308018220904449

Though many members of the public have called for Sviggum to be removed from the Board of Regents entirely, Kenyanya clarified that the power of appointment to the board lies in the hands of the state legislature, and not with other members of the board.

Neither Sviggum nor Powell were immediately available for additional comment.

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A UMN Regent asked if Morris was ‘too diverse.’ Met with backlash, he apologized

Hunter Dunteman — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 20:33:25 GMT

MORRIS, Minn. — A University of Minnesota Regent is apologizing after asking if the university system’s second-smallest satellite campus has become “too diverse.”

The comments by Steve Sviggum came during an Oct. 13 meeting of the U of M Mission Fulfillment committee, following a presentation from Janet Ericksen, chancellor of the university’s Morris campus, in which data was shared regarding Morris’ growth.

While discussing enrollment figures for the Morris campus, Ericksen admitted it was unlikely Morris would achieve a goal of 1,700 enrolled students by 2025. Sviggum, discussing the university’s marketing efforts, asked Ericksen if it’s possible that the diversity of the Morris campus might be contributing to a multi-year decline in enrollment.

“When we look at Morris in specific … as a campus, and as an institution of the university, we need to promote [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] and diversity,” Sviggum said. “Is it possible that at Morris we’ve become too diverse? Is that possible from a marketing standpoint?”

Before Ericksen could answer Sviggum elaborated that the question was driven by one phone call and one letter he’d received from parents of prospective students who decided not to attend the Morris campus due to diversity, adding that the prospective students said they wouldn’t be comfortable.

“I had a meeting this week with students who are members of the Black Student Union on our campus. I think they'd be shocked to think that anyone would think our campus is too diverse,” Ericksen responded. “They certainly at times feel very isolated where they’re located, so from that perspective, the answer is no.”

Ericksen noted that a variety of perspectives is core to the university’s liberal arts education, and the inclusion of different perspectives is of high value to the campus. However, she said it’s possible the idea of too much diversity may have stemmed from an increase in divisiveness and not from an actual experience.

“That it would not feel comfortable because it’s too diverse would surprise me,” Ericksen said. “I might speak to the increasing polarization and politicization as well as a factor in that perception, rather than the actual on the ground experience.”

Sviggum explained to Ericksen that he knew he was on “thin ice” before asking the question, but felt he had “the freedom” to ask.

“I’m on thin ice, I understand that. At 72 years old, I say things I wouldn't even have thought when I was 52,” Sviggum said. “...Thin ice, but I needed to say it, and I have the freedom to be able to do so.”

One by one, regents reacted publicly

Immediately following Sviggum’s conversation with Ericksen, the floor was turned over to Regent Darrin Rosha, who has served multiple nonconsecutive terms on the Board. Before Rosha moved to his discussion points, he addressed Sviggum’s comments.

“Before I go to my intended remarks, I just want to touch on the last dialogue,” Rosha said. “From a student perspective, particularly someone that comes from any community of color, at Morris, where you do have a … growing strength in diversity in the number of students of color, the minute you step off campus, you’re back into a very heavily white community. I think from that standpoint, I’d be quite surprised that a student would have a legitimate concern about feeling out of place.”

Rosha said that even if a concern was real, he believed the diversity of the Morris campus would offer an educational opportunity for a student to “understand that that shouldn’t matter.”

“I’m concerned for the people who are raising that issue,” Rosha added. “While I think the Morris campus student body reflects a greater diversity than if you look at the state as a whole, if you look at the graduating classes of high school students, particularly in the metropolitan area, it may actually be below the diversity of the students coming out of the largest schools.”

Rosha called higher diversity rates in colleges “the future of enrollment,” noting that students should see diverse universities as an opportunity as opposed to a point of concern.

No other regents immediately addressed Sviggum’s comments.

Four days later, on Oct. 17, Board of Regents Chair Kendall Powell issued a statement noting that Erickson’s response “strongly resonated” with him and commented on the idea that the university supports diversification efforts.

Later that day, Regent James Farnsworth, of St. Paul, posted a thread on Twitter calling the diversity of the Morris campus an “unquestionable strength.”

“I was sitting two chairs away from Regent Sviggum during Thursday's committee meeting and heard his comments in real time. I found them to be hurtful and inappropriate,” Farnsworth said.

But he felt that Powell’s statement didn’t appropriately address the issue at hand.

“I feel the statement that @UMNews tweeted from our board chair missed the mark. Chair Powell highlighted the board's support of the DEI efforts of the current administration,” Farnsworth said. “We should first ensure we're leading by example.”

In a WCCO radio interview four days after Sviggum’s remarks, he doubled down, saying he believes he asked a fair question.

“I don't see asking a question as being offensive or wrong, and certainly, certainly not racist,” Sviggum said.

The next day, he issued a letter of apology.

“Last week … I posed a question regarding the diversity of the student body and whether that diversity was — in any way — linked to the recent enrollment challenges,” his statement reads. “Let me unequivocally apologize for my questions, and especially for the unintended hurt my questions may have caused. They were not intended to cause harm, but my intent does not matter. For those whom I have harmed or offended, and for all of those associated with our great university, I am truly sorry.”

Sviggum added that his intent was to “foster discussion” regarding the enrollment decline at the Morris campus, though that he later recognized that his words matter.

On Oct. 20, Regent Mike Kenyanya, who was elected to a student at-large seat while still attending the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2019, issued a statement on Twitter, calling Sviggum’s question an endorsement of over-diversity.

“In subsequent interviews, Regent Sviggum has said it was just a question and that all questions should be welcome. The problem with asking if Morris is "too diverse" is that it means you think the answer could be yes,” Kenyanya said. “Even if those questions originated with others, bringing them to that forum is an endorsement.”

Though Teamsters Local 320, a union of University of Minnesota employees, has called on Sviggum to resign, Kenyanya noted that the Board of Regents has no control over Sviggum’s status as a regent, but implied they could strip him of his title as vice-chair.

The Minnesota Legislature elects members to the Board of Regents for six-year terms.

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University of Minnesota tuition hike ranges 1.75% to 3.5%

Josh Verges / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Thu, 12 May 2022 23:42:14 GMT

ST. PAUL -- Some University of Minnesota students can expect tuition increases of up to 3.5% next year – the largest in a decade for in-state students – under a budget proposal presented Thursday to the Board of Regents.

Students on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses would see the full 3.5% increase, while those attending Duluth, Morris or Crookston would pay half that.

The same rate of increase would be applied to undergraduate and graduate students, whether they live in Minnesota or not. Those in professional programs would pay 0 to 5% more than they do now, and the surcharge for business or science and engineering students would grow to $1,250 per semester, up from $1,000.

The university described the rate hikes in meeting materials as “well below the rate of inflation.” Add the roughly 35% of students whose family incomes make them eligible for state and federal grants would have “all or a significant portion” of the increase offset by increased government aid, budget director Julie Tonneson said.

Fee increases vary by campus. At the Twin Cities campus, room and board would rise by 4.8%and mandatory fees by 5%.

Tonneson said that in order to keep student cost increases below the rate of inflation, departments will have to cut back on positions, “find the deals” when they buy, seek new revenue sources, spend down their reserves and keep pay raises in check.

The pool of money available for merit-based faculty and staff raises would grow by 3.85 percent next year under President Joan Gabel’s $4.2 billion budget. While below inflation, that figure is well above recent compensation increases at the university.

Regents discussed the budget Thursday but won’t vote until next month.

Darrin Rosha said tuition is too high, especially for the outstate universities that struggle to compete for students with universities in neighboring states. Included in the budget is $7.4 million in one-time funds to help those three balance their budgets.

“The Crookston, Duluth and Morris campuses were hit pretty hard this year with enrollment-driven tuition shortfalls,” Tonneson said.

More generally, Rosha said, “I just don’t think we should make this debt problem more difficult for a new range of students.”

Board of Regents member Steve Sviggum said no one seems happy with the budget, which to him suggests that it’s a good one.

Between 2001 and 2011, annual tuition hikes at the Twin Cities campus ranged from 3.5 and 14.7% for in-state undergrads. In each of the nine years since then, increases have ranged from 0 to 2.5%.

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