Bemidji State University and other colleges around Minnesota will be affected by a recent vote by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees that includes both spending cuts and tuition increases.

The action was taken after the system received less than half of the additional state funding from the Minnesota Legislature than it requested to cover rising costs.

“A modest boost in state funding, combined with strategic spending cuts and our first tuition increases in yearsm will enable us to continue providing high-quality education to students,” BSU and NTC President Dr. Faith Hensrud said. “But this approach cannot be sustained year after year. We must have greater support to fulfill our mission of preparing graduates for success in the global economy.

For the upcoming 2017-18 academic school year, the cost of tuition at Bemidji State will increase by 3.67%, or $240 per year for a full-time student. Tuition will also increase at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji by 1%, or $51 per year for a full-time student.

Tuition will be frozen at both BSU and NTC in 2018-19.

This is the first tuition increase at Bemidji State since the 2015-16 school year, and only the second time in the last six years. Tuition at NTC hasn’t increased since 2012.

In addition to the tuition increases, which will save a combined $1 million dollars in revenue for BSU and NTC, the schools will also cut $1.9 million in spending. Those cuts will be partially offset by $321,000 in spending on several new position to support and improve campus diversity.

The reductions will include supplies, travel, new equipment and extra-duty time for faculty, as well as the elimination of an unfilled maintenance worker position at BSU.

The combined operating budget of BSU and NTC in 2017-18 will be $67.8 million.

By — Clayton Castle