UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo, right, in red, testifies Wednesday before the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Universities and Revenue in favor of a proposed bill that would allow UW System schools to retain a portion of reciprocity funding that currently is sent to the general fund of the state budget. Contributed photo.

Chancellor Gallo advocates for changing the Wisconsin-Minnesota tuition reciprocity agreement

Aug. 24, 2023 - University of Wisconsin-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo and other UW System school leaders advocated before a Wisconsin Senate committee Wednesday for changing the current Wisconsin-Minnesota reciprocity mechanism so Wisconsin schools can retain the full share of tuition revenue their Minnesota students pay. 

Gallo was joined in making in-person testimony in favor of Senate Bill 161 by UW-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank and UW-Madison Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Rob Cramer. Several other UW campuses also submitted written testimony and registered in favor of the legislation. In June, Gallo and others also testified before the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities in support of the companion bill, Assembly Bill 140. 

Currently, UW-River Falls and other UW System schools that enroll Minnesota students do not retain the higher tuition that those students pay. Instead, part of that money is returned to Minnesota, while the rest is deposited in the general fund of the state budget and is not used for higher education purposes. 

Last academic year, 43% of UW-River Falls students were from Minnesota. Allowing UW-River Falls to retain the portion of reciprocity money it sends to the state would have meant additional revenue is critical for campuses like UWRF to reinvest locally, so they can continue to attract students from Minnesota and connect them with Wisconsin employers through internships and other student success programs. 

Under the existing reciprocity agreement, “We lost over $4.3 million in earned revenue because of the current, outdated reciprocity mechanism,” Gallo said. “That is revenue that could have been reinvested in UWRF, meeting student demands and filling regional employer needs.” 

Changing reciprocity funding now is especially important, Gallo said, given the Minnesota Legislature’s adoption of North Star Promise, a tuition guarantee program for eligible low-income students that is designed to keep more Minnesota students in that state to attend college. That program will take effect in fall 2024. 

“We believe our program offerings will still attract some of those North Star Promise-eligible students to attend our university, but our Minnesota enrollment will shrink,” Gallo said. “Therefore, campuses like UW-River Falls will absolutely need the additional revenue made available with passage of this bill to be competitive.” 

The additional revenue from tuition reciprocity dollars would allow UWRF to offer more innovative, high-quality programming for Wisconsin and Minnesota students alike, Gallo said. 

Added funds also would boost hands-on collaboration opportunities with local employers, she said. 

Mayala Keita, a UWRF senior from Coon Rapids, Minn., majoring in food science and technology, submitted written testimony to the committee advocating for the proposed bill. Keita and other Minnesota students were surprised to realize that the campus educating them was not retaining all of the tuition that they were paying. She agrees that the tuition she pays needs to be reinvested in programming at UWRF that benefitted her and would support all students, such the help she received to land an internship with a Wisconsin employer last summer. 

Gallo thanked state lawmakers who represent River Falls – Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, Rep. Warren Petryk, Sen. Jeff Smith and Sen. Rob Stafsholt – for supporting the tuition reciprocity bill. Stafsholt is lead author on the Senate bill, and Zimmerman is lead on the Assembly bill. 

UWRF Financial Aid Director Robert Bode also testified before the Senate Committee on Universities and Revenue expressing support for Senate Bill 380 on behalf of the Wisconsin Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. That bipartisan bill would modernize Wisconsin grants and other financial aid for higher education. Gallo also registered in favor of the legislation.