UMN Regents debate biggest tuition hike in 14 years

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota is supposed to be an affordable option for students to earn a college degree. But the cost of higher education at the U's Twin Cities campus could soon be going up.

"I obviously don't like that. I don't think that that's really necessary, considering we already pay a lot of money to go here," said sophomore Erin Leib.

The university's Board Of Regents is debating a proposed tuition hike that, if approved, would be the biggest bump since 2010. The proposal would increase tuition by 4.5% for in-state students and 5.5% for out-of-state students.

That would mean residents would pay an average of $652 more to attend the school, bringing the total tuition to $15,148, not including books, room and board and other fees.

"I'll probably have to take more money out of loans, which I don't want to do because I already have so many loans to pay off. So it's just like, it's just not good," said junior Trinity Tatnan.

Students told FOX 9 the skyrocketing cost of a college education has some young people questioning the need for a four-year degree, choosing trade school or community college instead.

"In the world that we live in now, I would say it's not as important as it used to be to get a degree because there's so many different things that you can do,"

But they say the issue of college affordability isn't unique to the U.

"5% seems like a drop in the bucket when you're paying dozens of thousands of dollars, but it's still not great that it's tending that direction," said junior Alex Marvin.

The regents will hear public comment at their meeting on Friday, May 10. They will then have about a month to think about it before they vote on the proposal in June.