A Response to Student Concerns About Tuition

Last week, Student Government held a meeting to discuss several resolutions around tuition concerns, one of which called for a vote of no confidence against myself and other UND administrators.

As I mentioned in a campus-wide follow-up note sent on Friday, this was a difficult meeting for me. Marcia and I love this university, believe it’s an exceptional place, and work every day to promote our students, staff and faculty. At the same time, some points were made that were important for me and my staff to hear, and I want to thank everyone who offered thoughtful and constructive opinions in the meeting and afterward.

I listened carefully to your comments, and I share your concerns about tuition increases. In the days since then, I have received many additional emails, texts and calls. One of the major messages I’ve heard is you want more communication from me and my colleagues. I am committed to working with you, my administration, the chancellor and the State Board of Higher Education to find ways to keep tuition increases low and to continue our effort to make UND an affordable university. You will see that happen, and we have already begun to take some immediate actions based on the comments we have heard. Here are a few:

1. I pledge to advocate for students with the chancellor, the State Board of Education and the Legislature to keep tuition rates as low as possible.
2. We will develop communication tools to provide students with more information about tuition.
3. I will send you, on a regular basis, more information about all aspects of your student experience at UND.
4. We will also develop other ways to communicate with you using our website, blogs, videos and social media.

Going forward, I am committed to improving communication and working more closely with student leaders, with all students and with the campus community. We should have done this sooner — but we will start now, and I want you to know that we care about our students and recognize that we have an incredible student body who will not only compete with the best and brightest across the nation and world but who also will be the leaders of the future.

I hope to talk with and hear more from you — and I assure you that you will hear more from me. Together, we will communicate and work together to make UND an exceptional university.

Dr. Robert Kelley,

UND President