Higher-ed leaders concerned about potential enrollment impact of new Minnesota scholarship program

Jul. 4—GRAND FORKS — Following the announcement of a scholarship program in Minnesota designed to retain lower-income students, higher education leaders in North Dakota have formed a task force to examine its potential impacts on enrollment within the North Dakota University System.

The task force — led by UND President Andrew Armacost and NDSU President David Cook — was formed after

concerns were raised during last month's meeting of the State Board of Higher Education

. According to a presentation made at the meeting, of the top 10 state universities attended by Minnesota students, six are within the North Dakota University System, with NDSU and UND ranking one and four, respectively.

According to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, the North Star Promise Scholarship — set to launch in fall 2024 — is eligible to Minnesota residents whose family's annual adjusted gross income is below $80,000. Approximately 15,000-20,000 students will be eligible for the scholarship in its first academic year.

Mark Hagerott, chancellor of the State Board of Higher Education, said that although the board is concerned about enrollment, the state's institutions of higher learning are still attracting students.

"The NDUS has beaten the national averages for several years, and UND has grown in headcount for a couple of years," he said. "I'm confident that our campuses will continue to adapt programs and Minnesota students will continue to find incredible value in coming to North Dakota. But we definitely need to study what it is they're doing, and what kind of counter proposals we can make."

Hagerott said he has spoken with state legislators — who met for a special session in Bismarck last week to discuss the subject — along with the office of Gov. Doug Burgum.

Armacost stressed the importance of impressing upon students the benefits of the state's universities.

"Students choose to come to North Dakota from the state of Minnesota, because of the great academic programs, the value they derive from coming here and the opportunity to start their lives off in a good way," he said. "We're looking very carefully at this — we have our enrollment management personnel both here and at NDSU contributing heavily."

Armacost said Minnesota's students contribute heavily to the state's economy in both the short and long term.

"We have to analyze the potential economic impact on the state," he said. "If we lose students, there's an immediate direct impact on losing the spending they do in our local communities. There's also the longer term question of how it impacts North Dakota's workforce, and the connection between Minnesota students coming over and staying in our state."

Armacost also said that while it is too early to predict the impact of Minnesota's scholarship program, the committee's work will be vital in determining the SBHE's response.

"We have to be mindful that responding directly to, or copying, a program like Minnesota's could have benefits, but so could other programs," he said. "Our job is to look at what the appropriate response is."

Speaking during the State Board's meeting, Cook expressed concern about the scholarship's potential impact on enrollment at NDSU, whose incoming freshman class is approximately 52% from Minnesota. He also posited that the announcement of the scholarship may already be impacting student recruitment in North Dakota.

"This is a very serious situation for us," he said. "I'm hopeful that my colleagues on the board can come together and think about what the next best steps are. I'm a little nervous about time lines, because this is going to start next fall. Imagine if you're an underserved student from Minnesota, knowing that in two years, you're going to be getting free tuition and fees. You might even decide to stay in Minnesota, which seems reasonable.

"I like the idea of thinking about ways to fund the difference, so we could have some sort of North Dakota promise," he said. "But I get that it's also very tricky politically. We're talking about helping Minnesota kids from more under-served backgrounds have access to higher education. I think that's great, but what about the North Dakota kids? Given the complexity, I hope we can make this a big priority for the board and interim higher-ed committee, and maybe certain leaders of the Legislature, to tackle it."