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MINNEAPOLIS -- A divided University of Minnesota Board of Regents endorsed a five-year enrollment management plan for the school Thursday, aiming to attract more Minnesotans while dramatically raising the sticker price for out-of-state students.

The strategy represents a major change of course for the U, which slashed nonresident tuition to $13,600 from $20,580 in 2008 in hopes of making the state’s flagship school a more national and international institution.

The plan, which has been in the works for several months, was approved by voice vote.

Regents will decide tuition rates in June. An outline from U President Eric Kaler in February proposed annual $3,200 rate increases for nonresidents in each of the next four years.

Regent Peggy Lucas warned Thursday against moving away from the 2008 game plan so suddenly.

“I think we have to go very slowly on this,” Lucas said. “I think our brand is not sufficient yet to undo the good work of the regents of the past.”

Since 2008, Twin Cities enrollment from faraway states and countries has tripled, while far fewer students are coming from Wisconsin and the Dakotas, where they pay in-state tuition rates. That has helped the U’s bottom line while increasing student diversity and boosting the ACT scores of incoming freshmen.

What concerns some regents is that the U’s undergraduate share of Minnesota residents is down to 66 percent from 71 percent.

Darrin Rosha and Michael Hsu, both new to the board, said they wanted to move more aggressively to serve more Minnesota residents.

“Every time we send a rejection letter to a qualified Minnesota student, I think we’re failing,” Rosha said.

The board’s resolution sets a goal that Minnesota residents account for 65 percent of incoming freshmen. Hsu and Rosha tried but failed to bump that target up to 70 percent.

Even so, regents said they want to increase total Twin Cities undergraduate enrollment by 2,000 students, to around 32,500, which would mean more seats for Minnesotans.

Regent Laura Brod noted that when counting all five system campuses, 71 percent of undergraduates are from Minnesota.

Regent Abdul Omari voted against the enrollment resolution Thursday. The regents’ stated goal of returning nonresident, nonreciprocity tuition to the middle of the Big Ten would require five consecutive rate hikes of about 12 percent, he said.

The U intends to hand out more discounts to nonresidents to partially offset the increases.

Regent Linda Cohen called the big tuition hikes “highly bothersome.” But she ultimately supported the resolution on the condition admissions officers inform prospective students early on that tuition waivers and discounts are available.

Callie Livengood, a nonvoting student representative to the board, warned that a typical student looks only at the sticker price when applying for college. Soon, the U won’t look like such a steal, she said, and she expects applications to plummet.

Indeed, vice provost Bob McMaster told the board that out-of-state students already are shying away from the U as word has spread about pending tuition hikes. That group’s confirmed enrollments for this fall are down 8 percent from the same time last year, he said.