MSUM to match tuition coverage of North Star Promise scholarship for North Dakota, South Dakota students
Mar. 20—MOORHEAD — Minnesota State University Moorhead will expand a state program offering free tuition to in-state students to include those in neighboring states to the west.
MSUM President Tim Downs announced on Wednesday, March 20, that the university will expand the North Star Promise program to students who meet the same criteria in North Dakota and South Dakota.
The statewide scholarship program taking effect this fall covers the balance of tuition and fees remaining after other scholarships, grants, stipends and tuition waivers are applied.
The program is for Minnesota residents whose families have adjusted gross annual incomes of $80,000 or less.
MSUM takes the program a step further: An expansion funded by the university will make the scholarship available to entering freshmen and full-time students transferring from North Dakota and South Dakota who meet the same eligibility requirements.
The only difference is that MSUM's program will cover the balances of tuition only, Downs said.
As a border university, he said, it is imperative that MSUM makes higher education accessible to all students in the region who have traditionally had difficulties accessing it.
After Minnesota approved its North Star Promise program, colleges and universities in the area scrambled to establish similar programs in an effort to retain students and attract new ones.
In June of 2023,
five university presidents from institutions in eastern North Dakota made pleas to the State Board of Higher Education for the state to match Minnesota's efforts.
On Nov. 2,
Concordia announced its own tuition relief program called Concordia Promise.
The private college set eligibility slightly higher, for students whose families had adjusted gross incomes of $90,000 or less.
On Nov. 9, North Dakota State University revealed its own tuition relief option,
the NDSU Tuition Award Program.
It was meant to cover tuition and fees for eligible students for one year, but only a few weeks later, NDSU said
additional funding was secured to expand it to two years.
In February,
Valley City State University came out with the Viking Promise,
saying 95% of students who are eligible for Pell Grants will have their tuition fully covered.
Downs said the announcement by MSUM won't be the last when it comes to advancing the careers of students.
"This expanded North Star Promise program is just the first of many initiatives we have in store as we continue to serve as the premier regional university in the Red River Valley," Downs said.
For more information about the program, students and families are encouraged to visit
MSUM'S website.
