Wow what a poor job on this article. I don't blame the university folks commenting for not speaking about the facts here as they hurt the U of MN's position, but the reporter missed the very obvious here. The fact that Iowa kids can got to an Iowa School cheaper than a MN kid can go to the U of MN, a ND or SD kids can go to a home state school cheaper than a MN kids can go to the U of MN--it's that way in EVERY state around MN! The expense for attending the U of MN as an undergraduate is out of line with the same expense in other states. The U of MN has to lower tuition to even be competitive these days. I bet an analysis of the typical out of stater at the U of MN would show they are getting other aid as well--or are in a program unique to the U of MN.

This is an example of why we need to federally regulate colleges similar to the Card Act in 2009 to inform and protect students from predatory practices. Colleges should disclose where their money is spent, what programs are being subsidized (out of state, minority, other), tuition rates, graduation rates, average debt, employment opportunities, etc. These kids have no idea where the money is going and come out of school with a serious debt load while the Dean and Regents debate thngs and experiment with their money.

You people miss the whole point of the U of M, and all colleges. That is they exist not for the benefit of the students, but for the benefit of professors. It is a real sham that they receive annual raises not in line with inflation.

It is hard to do a true comparison with other Big 10 schools. For example, my son attends Ohio State, and to attract non-resident students, they offer a pretty much automatic scholarship that brings his tuition cost within a thousand dollars of the MN resident tuition. He only needs to maintain a 2.5 gpa to keep the scholarship. Of course, he still pays more than Ohio residents.

The MnSCU state universities provide in-state tuition to all international students, regardless of financial need. I don't understand why, in this tight budget climate when permanent faculty positions are being eliminated and more non-Ph.D. adjunct instructors are teaching more courses, we are subsidizing international student educations.

@tidbits38: You're right that U of M professors "receive annual raises not in line with inflation." Their salaries have been frozen for the previous three years. Maybe you should do some research before making such wildly inaccurate statements.

The U charges 1/2 of big 10 average for non- residents? And the waiting list is a mile long? We must be a great school?

I have 3 kids, each had an ACT of 27 or better and good GPA's. 2 of the 3 got in to the U, one did not. I get calls for donations as a former alumni grad. I decline since we're subsidizing as it is and the costs to our family are nothing short of ENORMOUS! The cost of sending our 3 kids to college where they live on campus is going to amount to over $300,000 for the cumulative time to graduation. The Carlson school costs more so as to provide scholarship money to those less fortunate. Subsidies from the state of MN decrease. A good friend was let go from teaching at the U because she had a part time position and a masters degree, in fact, when she was let go, most of those in that bunch were women. The fact that we subsidize out of state/country students appalls me. In an age where every man is for himself (not that I agree), you'd think the U would be smarter about charging those outstate children who obviously can better afford the higher rates. Perhaps a study should be done to determine the level of financial aid the outstate kids use compared to those children on our home soil of MN. This indebtedness is abhorant and immoral.

MN people paying higher and higher taxes so that non-MN students get a break on schooling! What's wrong here?

Gee, this seems like a convoluted mess. Would you expect anything less from this bureaucratic mess? Just another reason that the entire U of MN budget needs to have a line by line review. We need to get to the bottom of where all the money goes and how much tuition should cost for residents and non-residents. Not that the U of MN should run exactly like a business, but how can they set tuitions when they don't know how much it really should cost? The U of MN isn't a sacred cow. It needs to be thoroughly reviewed.