Some Legislators are raising questions about tuition rates and tuition waivers at the state’s public colleges and universities.
They’re members of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee. An audit report recommended some changes in how waivers are approved – so there’s more consistency across the system. And some lawmakers want to see how many out of state and international students who receive tuition waivers actually stay in North Dakota.
Rep. Mike Nathe (R-Bismarck said NDSU, for example, provided $3.8 million in waivers for residents, $5.7 million for non-residents, and $8.3 million for international students.
"I think it's very important that we know -- are these international students and the residents staying here?" said Nathe. "The state of North Dakota is paying for their education. Are we, the taxpayers, paying for international students just to check a box off for diversity, or are we helping to pay for them to hopefully have them stay here in North Dakota?"
NDSU Provost Beth Ingram told the committee there’s a reason to give these waivers.
"When I go to buy a car, there's a list price, and most of the time, I don't pay that list price," said Ingram. "Maybe the list price is $24,000. But I talk to the manager, and he sells me the car for $20,000. I don't feel as if they've given me $4000 -- I would not have purchased the car if I would have had to pay the $24,000. For them, it's the choice of selling me the car for $20,000, or have me walk off the lot and go to a different dealer."
Ingram says that analogy works for higher education.
"With respect to international students, there's a lot of competition," said Ingram. "And if we charge them the full tuition, they wouldn't come to NDSU. They would go someplace else."
The University System will give the committee a more detailed report on who gets the waivers – and if those students actually stay in North Dakota.
