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BEMIDJI 鈥� The recently approved an undergraduate tuition freeze as part of its annual operating budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

Tuition will remain at the same level as the 2023 fiscal year, which averaged $8,685 at the system鈥檚 universities and $5,471 at its colleges.

According to a release, the freeze was made possible by funding approved by the legislature and Gov. Tim Walz through a higher education funding bill for the 2024-2025 biennium.

鈥淲e have deep appreciation for the leadership that Chair Gene Pelowski, Chair Omar Fateh, committee members and Gov. Walz showed in making this tuition freeze possible with their historic investment in higher education,鈥� Minnesota State Chancellor Devinder Malhotra said in a release. 鈥淭he funding positions the colleges and universities of Minnesota State to respond to the critical needs of students, promotes equitable student success and will help provide Minnesota the talent and workforce it needs.鈥�

The release added that the 2023 legislative session featured a $292.9 million investment in Minnesota State colleges and universities, which made the tuition freeze possible.

In addition to the tuition freeze, other key provisions of the final bill included funding for:

• Student support initiatives that will help campuses address basic needs insecurity, mental health and other high-need student support services.
• Developing and expanding industry sector programming to build capacity and support new and redesigned curricular options with an emphasis on offering students work-based learning experiences. State funds will be matched with cash or in-kind contributions from non-state sources.
• Improving college and university equipment and learning environments. State funds will be matched with cash or in-kind contributions from non-state sources.
• Expanding offerings in free course materials and resources, including through open educational resources, open textbooks and implementation of 鈥淶-Degrees鈥� 鈥� complete associate or bachelor's degree programs that exclusively use course resources that are available at no cost to students.
• Continuing the Workforce Development Scholarship program that encourages students to enter programs in high demand by employers.
• The 鈥淣orth Star Promise,鈥� a scholarship program that provides access to public higher education without tuition cost for students from families with annual incomes of less than $80,000. This program will become available in the 2025 fiscal year.

Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College President John Hoffman noted that the bill also funds full tuition and fee waivers for American Indian students who are either a Minnesota resident or an enrolled member of a Minnesota tribal nation regardless of resident status.

鈥淚n short, students win. And when students win, so do our colleges and universities and so do our local economies,鈥� Hoffman said in a release. 鈥淭his truly is a revolutionary package of legislation that will help carry Minnesota into a brighter future.鈥�