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On Campus Blog
Alex Friedrich

Who pays what at MnSCU schools after financial aid is factored in

AKA "The Benson Chart"

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benson-table
AKA "The Benson Chart"

MnSCU officials have really been pushing the affordability issue, as you can see from my previous post.

This little item became a topic of discussion during yesterday's budget discussion at the monthly board meeting of trustees.

(MnSCU officials jokingly call it "The Benson Chart," because trustee Duane Benson asked for the information.)

It shows, essentially, what students from different income brackets pay each year in tuition after financial aid is factored in.

Chancellor Steven Rosenstone summed it up:

"What we are saying to the people of Minnesota is that if you come from a family of very, very modest income -- under $20,000 a year -- you can attend full time at one of our colleges for $737 for 30 credits over the course of the year.  And if you come from a family of equally modest means, you can attend one of our state universities full time for $989 in tuition over the course of the entire year. That's remarkable. That's something we should really be proud of."

More than 60 percent of MnSCU students receive some form of financial aid, according to budget documents.

(I'd be curious to compare this chart with one provided by the U and Minnesota's private colleges. As one person on my previous post commented: "Nearly all students at our private college receive aid awards (not including loans) far below the posted cost of tuition and many find their actual cost of attendance to be comparable or better than that of the public counterpart.")

Still, Benson told the board:

"I think it helps us understand that we're on our way to some notion of progressivity as we look at this. I wonder if we could at some point ... reflect student debt and lay it up against this."