Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Minot State wants international students to pay $25 semester fee

Minot State wants international students to pay $25 semester fee

Feb 12, 2008 - 05:44:58 CST

By DALE WETZEL/Associated Press Writer

Minot State University wants to charge its international students a fee of $25 per semester, which the university contends is needed to cover higher costs of advising and providing support for them.

Of the 11 colleges in North Dakota's university system, only North Dakota State University now charges foreign students a separate fee. The University of North Dakota is considering a fee of $15 to $20.

NDSU charges $25 to international students during the fall and winter terms, said John Adams, the school's vice president for finance and administration. Mayville State University charges foreign students $100 to apply for admission.

The proposed Minot State University charge would be on top of tuition expenses and other fees, and would raise about $12,900 annually, a university memo says.

It would help finance an informational manual and mandatory orientation sessions for new international students, where they could be briefed on U.S. labor and homeland security regulations that affect them, the memo says.

The Board of Higher Education's budget, audit and finance committee endorsed the idea Monday. The full board will consider it later. Three of the board's eight members - Jon Backes, Richie Smith and John Q. Paulsen - are on the committee.

The fee would also be used for a taxi service, regular workshops to discuss cultural and immigration issues, and programs intended to pair up international students with local families and students, the memo says.

"Overall, the programs and enhancements that this fee would support would ensure that Minot State University can meet the unique needs of international students," it says.

"Ultimately, this fee would lead to increased enrollment and retention of Canadian and other international students, due to increased availability of support services."

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Comments

Audrey wrote on Feb 14, 2008 2:29 PM:

" I don't think this is fair at all. The schools are just looking for extra ways to get money from people and they think now that it is fair to start charging international students extra just because. It already costs so much to move from another country with flights and governments fees and such, why add another fee? Also, I do not like how this article at times calls these students foreign students and other times international students. I believe the correct and polite term is international. "

Jeff wrote on Feb 12, 2008 7:58 AM:

" Earlier this month people were complaining about the Bank of North Dakota charging too high of interest rates on student loans. This story illustrates the real problem: greedy schools. Higher education costs have outpaced inflation for decades. It also seems that the quality of education has declined during this same period. So if schools are charging more and giving less, where is all this extra money going? "

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