Wisconsin students attending UW-Madison would pay the same amount of tuition if they chose to attend the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Minnesota students, however, would pay more than Wisconsin students even if they attended their home state's flagship university.
After a Dec. 14, 2006 letter between the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board, this tuition reciprocity agreement is being debated and may be renegotiated this semester.
Students from Minnesota who attend UW-Madison pay the designated ""Minnesota resident"" 2006-'07 rate of $8,318, which is significantly higher than the 2006-'07 in-state tuition of $6,730 paid by Wisconsin students.
In comparison, students from Minnesota attending U of M are paying an in-state tuition rate of $7,588, which is also higher than the tuition paid by students from Wisconsin. Students from Wisconsin who attend U of M pay a ""Wisconsin resident"" rate of $6,730, the equivalent of the in-state tuition they would pay if they were to attend UW-Madison.
Currently, Wisconsin students are paying about $1200 less than Minnesota students to attend U of M, due to quicker tuition increases at the University of Minnesota than at UW-Madison in recent years.
Barb Schlaefer, director of communications for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, said tuition agreements between UW-Madison and U of M ""have existed since about 1968, and the purpose of them is to give students more options, remove tuition and admissions barriers for students both in Wisconsin and Minnesota, give them more choices.""
Rachel Brown, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, transferred to the U of M after previously attending UW-La Crosse.
""For me to go to UW-La Crosse was less money than I pay to attend the University of Minnesota, and I'm from Minnesota,"" Brown said. ""Even with the reciprocity, I paid less in Wisconsin than I pay to go to Minnesota. That just doesn't make sense to me. I think it's ridiculous.""
Executive secretary of the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board, Connie Hutchison, did not return repeated calls seeking comment, but told The Minnesota Daily that Minnesota and Wisconsin have a memorandum of agreement every year in late fall to outline each school's tuition structure, and that Minnesota has been talking about reworking the deal for several years.
UW-Madison junior Emily Roberts, who is from Minnesota, said despite the discrepancy in tuition rates, she would still choose UW-Madison over U of M.
""I think it's unfortunate that the tuition has to be that way, but I fell in love with this school, and that's why I'm here. I think there's a different element in this school than there is at the University of Minnesota,"" Roberts said. ""For me it isn't an issue of money; tuition is a difference, but it's not a huge difference.""
