Maximum state college grants boosted

BISMARCK — North Dakota lawmakers should double the state university system’s maximum annual aid grant for needy students from $1,000 to $2,000, the state Board of Higher Education believes.

Board members on Thursday approved introducing a bill in the 2009 Legislature to implement the change. It would dovetail with Gov. John Hoeven’s plan to dramatically increase state spending on student grants.

North Dakota’s university system awards grants to students who meet financial need guidelines. State law now sets the cap at $1,000 per student for each academic year.

However, the board has limited grants to $800 per student because of a shortage of funds for the program, which benefits about 4,000 students.

William Goetz, chancellor of the state university system, said the board’s proposed legislation would not guarantee that student grants would reach $2,000.

“It may end up to be (less) ... but at least we have increased the cap, and that is absolutely essential,” Goetz said. “The increased costs are being incurred as a result of higher tuition, books, increased room and board. Certainly as the years have gone by, we see that the trend line of tuition has increased dramatically.”

Goetz said the proposed legislation was influenced by Hoeven’s student grant plan.

During his successful campaign for re-election, Hoeven proposed raising North Dakota’s expenditure for student grants from $6 million to $40 million every two years, and increasing the maximum grant to $2,000.

Hoeven estimated that his blueprint would help 11,000 students at North Dakota’s public and private colleges.

Tags: north dakota, colleges, spending, grants