A bill currently in the North Dakota legislature, if passed, could limit the ratio of reciprocity receiving students to North Dakotan students at North Dakota University System schools.
House bill 1265, introduced by Rep. Rick Becker (R, Dist. 7), aims to reduce the burden of North Dakota taxpayers by limiting the ratio of out-of-state students that can attend NDUS schools.
As it is currently worded, the bill would amend the North Dakota Century Code to gradually reduce the percentage of new nonresident students under a reciprocity agreement with North Dakota.
If passed, the act would take place on July 1, 2018. At its start, new nonresident students admitted to NDUS schools may not exceed 250 percent of admitted resident students. At the end of the bill’s eight year gradual reduction and every year thereafter, new nonresident admittance would be capped to one hundred and fifty percent that of resident students admitted.
Currently, North Dakota State is comprised of approximately 41 percent North Dakotan students and 46 percent Minnesotan students, or 1.13 Minnesotan students for every North Dakotan student.
NDSU student body president Spencer Moir said that though HB 1265 is rooted in good intention for protecting North Dakota citizens, “the (bill) would ultimately cause more harm than good.”
“Limited enrollment would lead to a reduction in graduation rates which in turn would hinder recruitment of educated citizens that would invest and contribute to North Dakotan society,” Moir said.
He added that he personally chose NDSU because it offered a competitive education at a fraction of the cost of Minnesotan schools.
“The money should be going to somebody so it would make sense for the MN kids to continue receiving… reciprocity, but at the same time they are MN students not ND students so the money is going towards another group,” Megan Frensko, a Minnesotan sophomore studying computer engineering, said.
“It shouldn’t really matter, students should reserve the ability to go to the school they want,” Katrina Hoff, a freshman from North Dakota, said.
Becker said that he does not wish to restrict out-of-state students from attending NDUS schools, but he also doesn’t want an “extreme burden” on North Dakota taxpayers. “I want as many out of state students as possible,” he said.
Becker said out-of-state students due to reciprocity agreements are costing North Dakota taxpayers “roughly $7,000 a piece, every student, every year.” Becker said the cost is unfair when more students are coming to North Dakota to learn instead of North Dakotan students leaving to other states.
He said his bill is designed to lower the ratio to a near one-to-one level, in which would put it on par with the amount of out-of-state attendees NDUS schools had in 2007.
Mark Hagerott, the chancellor of the university system, said out-of-state students are essential to higher education in North Dakota.
Hagerott said higher education in North Dakota employs economies of scale, in that it has proportionate cost savings gained by an increased level of production.
The increased production is that students from outside of North Dakota increase attendances at NDUS schools such as North Dakota State and the University of North Dakota, causing the overall costs of the school to diminish per student given the increase in attendance.
Hagerott said as North Dakota has a population of around three-quarters of a million people, it does not solely have enough students to populate two universities, and thus bringing in students from Minnesota and other states allows for NDUS schools to excel in instructing numerous fields of education.
The full text of the bill can be found online.