N.D. higher ed board rejects NDSU request for modest tuition bump - Dave Kolpack, Associated Press

The state Board of Higher Education has rejected North Dakota State University's request for a one-half of one percent tuition increase after some board members said they feared retaliation by lawmakers. Less than a year after approving an 8.8 percent tuition increase for NDSU, the state Board of Higher Education Thursday rejected the school's request for a one-half of one percent bump after some board members said they feared retaliation by lawmakers. The board approved maximum tuition increases of 2.5 percent for four-year colleges, but opted to freeze NDSU in a 4-4 vote that effectively defeated the proposal. Board president Grant Shaft, of Grand Forks, said he believed the legislature would strip NDSU of its 8.8 percent increase if the measure passed. The reality is, we are part of a political process," said Shaft, who joined Duaine Espegard of Grand Forks, Kirsten Diederich of Fargo, and Claus Lembke of Bismarck in voting against NDSU's plan.