Kaler: U will freeze tuition for more state funds

University of Minnesota incoming president
University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler, seen here in a file photo, is proposing a tuition freeze in exchange for more money from the state.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

The University of Minnesota is proposing a tuition freeze in exchange for more money from the state.

University President Eric Kaler has a deal for the Legislature: give the school $91.6 million more in funding in the next biennium, and in return the university will freeze tuition for undergrads in each of the next two years.

The university is also tying the increase in funding to five self-set goals, including raising the graduation rate and offering more financial aid to students. The school also wants to sink some of the money into research it hopes will benefit the state.

The plan is part of Kaler's $1.2 billion budget request, his first as president.

The university's Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the request in October.

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