GRAND FORKS - Two farm groups say the state university system is making a mistake by not sending more veterinary students to Kansas State University.

The state Board of Higher Education on Thursday refused to reconsider its decision to allow two students into the program. The Legislature had approved a contract for five students each year during the next two years.

"I'm terribly disappointed," Wade Moser, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, said after testifying to the board. "Everyone on the board knows this is a serious issue. This isn't an unfunded mandate."

Moser said there's a critical shortage of vets, particularly for large animals.

North Dakota doesn't have a veterinary school, but the state has professional arrangements with the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa. Kansas State came to North Dakota with the current proposal, said Nancy Kopp, executive secretary of the state Veterinary Medical Association.

The agreement allows North Dakota students to pay the Kansas resident rate for tuition and fees.

"We felt so strongly about it that we wanted to get as many students in this particular program as we could," Kopp told the board.

Lawmakers set aside $262,500 for the program and ordered higher ed officials to find ways to ensure the program's future. The board was worried that it couldn't fund more than two students for four years.