The Badger Herald

OPINION & EDITORIAL

Over the borderline

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:

A security fee-for-all (December 11, 2007)
Farewell, Chancellor (December 10, 2007)
$$FC (December 6, 2007)
In a bind (December 5, 2007)
Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)

by Badger Herald Editorial Board

Monday, January 29, 2007

Susan Heegaard, executive director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, sent a letter to the Wisconsin Higher Education Aids Board last week calling for a change in the Minnesota-Wisconsin reciprocity agreement.

The agreement has its roots in 1965, when basic reciprocal agreements were put in place to allow residents along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border to attend nearby schools in either state. After years of refinement, the agreement now stands that Wisconsin students pay Wisconsin in-state tuition at all Minnesota system schools and vice-versa, and thousands of students take advantage of the agreement every year.

As of late, however, U of M has been losing revenue thanks to its Sconnie students: Minnesota outpaced Wisconsin in resident tuition six years ago, and the difference between flagship universities amounts to about $1,200 per student per year. Of course, a means of compensation is built into the reciprocity agreement, and last year, Wisconsin paid $6.5 million back to Minnesota due to the growing tuition gap.

Unfortunately, the state of Minnesota didn't give the payment to its public universities in full. And though we sympathize with the situation, it seems the issue lies within the state of Minnesota, not within the reciprocity agreement itself.

Furthermore, we can't help but recognize that Minnesota takes quite a bit away from the deal as it stands: More Minnesota students attend Wisconsin schools than the opposite, and the University of Wisconsin System is one of the best educational systems in the country. Minnesotans also have access to UW-Madison, which lands more than 30 spots north of U of M in the most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings.

Wisconsin high schoolers enjoy the option of attending college in Minnesota, and it's hard to argue that added variety isn't a huge benefit of the reciprocity agreement. But the biggest concern for Wisconsin should be the education of Wisconsin citizens — and that is the duty of the University of Wisconsin System.

If the agreement is to be altered or reversed, those currently enrolled in either state should be taken into consideration to ensure an abrupt change in policy doesn't leave anyone hanging out to dry. But the state of Wisconsin shouldn't bend over backward — or raise tuition, as Heegaard suggests — to keep Minnesota on board.

Feedback

Show all comments

Hide anonymous comments

Anonymous (January 29, 2007 @ 7:20am):

Hmmmmmmm, Wisconsin is so much better but tuition should stay lower? Something fishy about that argument.

Anonymous (January 29, 2007 @ 1:07pm):

Hmmmm, Wisconsin is a state school, and it's supposed to stay affordable for in-state residents...... yeah, uh, that's fishy.

Add a comment

We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.