BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – NDSU President Dean Bresciani told the Senate Appropriations committee that proposed higher education cuts in the executive budget would be “devastating” to the university, education, and the state.
Bresciani said the 7.5% reduction in the formula payment to higher education proposed by Governor Burgum would mean a $5 million budget loss for NDSU that would impact students, faculty, and staff. Over the past five years, the state’s higher education system has lost hundreds of jobs due to budget cuts.
Bresciani said anything that weakens higher education in North Dakota could be used by out-of-state institutions to recruit students. He cited the University of Minnesota as a “very aggressive” student recruitment institution that identifies North Dakota as a state that always cuts higher education.
NDSU Student Body President Matthew Friedmann, a graduate student from St.Paul, told senators any decision by the legislature that results in a tuition increase will not go unnoticed by the students. He said such a decision would influence decisions about attending NDSU by current and prospective students.
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