Free, reduced tuition program expanded to all UMinn campuses

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota will offer free or reduced tuition to many Native American students attending its five campuses starting next fall.

The cost waiver program had previously been offered only at the Morris campus, but now will be expanded to all five campuses, to also included Duluth, Rochester, Crookston and the Twin Cities.

Incoming freshmen and tribal college transfer students who are enrolled members of one of Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations will be eligible for free or reduced tuition, depending on their family income level.

They can’t transfer from other private or public colleges in the state, the Star Tribune reported.

“For 170 years, our university has focused attentively on the needs of all Minnesotans,” U President Joan Gabel said in a statement Monday. “Today we are taking a positive step forward in addressing the needs of Indigenous peoples with a history that predates this state and institution — a step I sincerely hope will have a lasting impact on tribal communities.”

Qualifying students with an annual family income under $75,000 can attend tuition-free. Those whose families earn up to $125,000 a year will be eligible for tuition discounts of up to 80% to 90%.

Earlier this year, the Board of Regents approved a separate program to offer free tuition for students of families earning less than $50,000 annually. Undergraduate students from Minnesota and reciprocating states pay about $15,000 annually in tuition and fees at the Twin Cities campus.