Higher Ed leaders in North Dakota are worried about losing enrollment due to Minnesota’s “North Star” promise program, which begins in the fall of 2024.
FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota State University (NDSU) announced Wednesday that it’s extending a new scholarship brought about due to neighboring Minnesota’s program to cover tuition for income-eligible residents, beginning next year.
North Dakota higher education leaders are worried about losing Minnesota students. Earlier this month, North Dakota State announced its new Tuition Award Program, which is similar to Minnesota’s North Star Promise program. Both programs kick off in fall 2024. NDSU has now extended the scholarship to a second year.
Minnesota’s North Star Promise program will cover undergraduate tuition and fees at the state’s public post-secondary schools and tribal colleges for Minnesota residents whose family income is under $80,000, after they have used other sources of financial aid, such as grants and scholarships.
NDSU’s new scholarship is for Minnesota and North Dakota first-year students who are eligible for the federal Pell Grant and whose family income is $80,000 or less. Returning second-year students will also be considered for one year of the scholarship in the 2024-25 school year.
The scholarship will cover eligible students’ tuition and fees after other aid is used. The NDSU Foundation is covering the cost of the new scholarships, estimated to be $3.5 million for its first year.
NDSU President David Cook has spoken of “catastrophic implications” due to the North Star Promise. The university is the top out-of-state choice for first-year Minnesota students, who make up nearly half the school’s student body.
About 15,000 to 20,000 Minnesotans could use the North Star Promise in its first year, according to Minnesota’s Office of Higher Education, perhaps keeping them within state borders and out of North Dakota schools.
About 1,400 Minnesota students at five schools in eastern North Dakota might be eligible for the Minnesota program, according to the North Dakota University System.
Source : KARE
