North Dakota

North Dakota lawmakers dig into subsidizing online college classes for out-of-state students

Published

4 months ago

November 13, 2025

North Dakota lawmakers dig into subsidizing online college classes for out-of-state students

BISMARCK — Representatives of North Dakota colleges on Wednesday, Nov. 12, espoused the value of offering online classes, even to students who may never set foot in the state.

State lawmakers have been trying to assess the value of providing state funding to online programs serving students outside North Dakota and neighboring states.

“We are still highly subsidizing,” Sen. Ron Sorvaag, R-Fargo, chair of the Higher Education Funding Review Committee, said of online classes. “We still need to understand, are we getting a bang for the buck?”

University System presentation

said the state is spending about $22 million on online courses for out-of-state students for the most recent two-year budget cycle. That doesn’t include online students from Minnesota, Montana or South Dakota.

Sen. Ronald Sorvaag, R-Fargo, speaks during a committee hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.

Michael Achterling / North Dakota Monitor

Sorvaag said legislators aren’t opposed to online education, but want to make sure the dollars that go to online courses through the state’s higher education funding formula are being used wisely.

The committee will consider possible changes to the funding formula that could be made in the 2027 legislative session.

Much of the discussion centered on out-of-state, online students. In 2021-23, the University System had nearly 9,000 out-of-state, online students who were not residents of neighboring states, according to figures presented to the committee. Total enrollment for those two years was more than 77,000 students.

Karla Mongeon-Stewart, vice president of finance for the University of North Dakota, addressed value by saying that UND students in that category contribute $2.09 in tuition and fees for every $1 of state funding.

She said online students pay the same fees as on-campus students that help maintain buildings, pay down debt and keep fees for things such as recreation facilities low for on-campus students.

She said revenue from online students has helped keep UND financially stable at times when on-campus enrollment has waned.

Mongeon-Stewart also highlighted how UND has built a reputation as a credible online institution that reflects positively on the whole state. She gave examples of Sara Sabry, an Egyptian astronaut, and Paige Jones, an Olympic-level skier from Utah, who chose to take classes from UND.

She said UND also serves the military community and the two Air Force bases in the state. People living at a base may start their education in North Dakota but end up being deployed or transferred to another state.

UND and Bismarck State College lead the North Dakota University System in online credit hours.

UND’s most popular courses are nursing and engineering. Mongeon-Stewart said the additional enrollment from online students helps diversify the engineering course offerings the university can offer.

Bismarck State’s most popular classes are related to the energy industry.

Dan Leingang, interim president of Bismarck State College, said some of those students may not be seeking a degree but needing training to succeed with their current employer.

His

written testimony

included letters of support from Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, and Jonathan Fortner, president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council.

In other higher education meetings this fall, lawmakers have shown frustration with a lack of data on where out-of-state online students are living.

Mongeon-Stewart said there has not been consistency in how North Dakota’s 11 public colleges and universities track out-of-state online students, but the institutions are working on a uniform model.

She said she hopes it will include information such as a North Dakota affiliation, like being a graduate from a high school or college in the state.

“We are going to work really hard to do a better job in the future of giving you what you need,” she told lawmakers.

Sorvaag said he was grateful for the presentations on out-of-state online students, but added that the Legislature must still decide if subsidizing those courses is the best use of state money. Lawmakers could decide state dollars are better spent in other areas, such as supporting scholarships for in-state students, he said.

The question is part of a larger potential overhaul of the state’s funding formula for higher education.

“The more we dig into this, the more we understand how complicated this is,” Sorvaag said.

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North Dakota

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

Published

10 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.

Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:

Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men

Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.

Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.

First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.

None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.

Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.

See more history at Newspapers.com

An ad featured in The Forum on March 2, 1943. Newspapers.com

Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.

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North Dakota

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

Published

23 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

(Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakotans are semifinalists for the Bismarck State College president’s job as North Dakota State University narrows its presidential candidate list.

Valley City State University also is searching for a new president, with an application period closing this month..

Kevin Black, chair of the State Board of Higher Education and co-chair of the North Dakota State University Presidential Search Committee, said the committee reviewed over 60 applications. The committee is planning off-site interviews with candidates March 9-10 and campus visits with semifinal candidates March 23-27.

“We’re really excited about taking the next step and there’s some very quality people in there,” Black said.

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North Dakota

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

FARGO — One season ago, a Cinderella run for the West Fargo United girls hockey team came up just short in the state championship game.

United, the No. 7 seed, fell to Legacy/Bismarck in the 2025 final.

This time around, the team had momentum swaying in its favor, riding nine consecutive wins into Saturday’s title game against Grand Forks at Scheels Arena.

Led by goals from a pair of senior captains, United capped its redemption season with a 10th straight victory, fending off the KnightRiders 2-1 to claim the North Dakota girls hockey state tournament championship.

“It just means everything,” said United’s Payton Stocker, whose goal at the 12:31 mark of the second period gave her team a 1-0 lead. “We’ve worked so hard and throughout the season, it’s just been such a battle. Winning and coming out on top is just such a great feeling.”

West Fargo United captains react as they are presented the team’s 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena in Fargo.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

Stocker was followed up in scoring by United captain Rachel Spanier. The defenseman fired a slap shot from the left point that beat Grand Forks goaltender Kylie Schmaltz to make it 2-0 with 35 seconds remaining in the middle frame.

Reagan Wilson locked things down in net for United, finishing with 23 saves and picking up an all-tournament team nod.

“This is my first year of high school hockey,” the sophomore goaltender said. “I can’t believe coming in here and winning a state title with all of these girls. I just love them so much.”

While it was the senior duo of Stocker and Spanier finding the net for United on Saturday, contributions were seen across the board.

Sophomore Emma Hassler also put forth an all-tournament campaign with five goals and an assist for six points over the three-day stretch.

030226 WFGOUnited3.jpg — Grand Forks’ Dustee Balek’s shot is blocked by West Fargo United goalie Reagan Wilson in the North Dakota girls hockey state championship game on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Freshman Kaylee Augdahl finished the tournament with four points — including

a double-overtime winner

over Fargo North/South in Friday’s semifinals — and junior Liana Williamson added three assists.

“It wasn’t just us (seniors),” said Stocker, who joined Hassler and Wilson on the all-tourney team. “It was everyone collectively. Being seniors, it feels a lot better. It was a great feeling.”

United, the No. 5 seed this year, capped its season with a record of 17-9-0.

“These girls are awesome,” first-year United head coach Kennedy Blair said. “They’ve worked super, super hard since last April. Wake up early in the mornings, go into off-ice training, on-ice training and all that.

“This group of girls is really special. They’re a really close-knit group, and they trusted our coaching staff coming in as a first-year group.”

030226 WFGOUnited2.jpg — West Fargo United players pose for the camera as they wait for the 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Blair knows a thing or two about winning championships. She was a North Dakota state champion goaltender with the former Bismarck Blizzard co-op and also won an NCAA Division I national title with the Wisconsin women’s program in 2021.

Yet, she never imagined ending her first year as a high school varsity coach with a state championship.

“No, I didn’t,” said Blair, who also won North Dakota High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. “But I had belief in these girls that we could get to the state championship again.”

It’s the United co-op’s first-ever state title — which consists of West Fargo, West Fargo Sheyenne and West Fargo Horace high schools.

Prior to Saturday, the last time a West Fargo girls program won the state title was in 2014 when it was still a standalone program competing as the Packers.

“It’s amazing considering United hockey has never won a championship game,” Wilson said.

Grand Forks, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, ended its campaign with a 21-5-0 record.

Ella Yahna’s fourth goal of the tournament — which came on a 2-on-1 rush with the assist from teammate Reese Meagher, put the KnightRiders within one shot with 8:17 remaining in the third.

Grand Forks, however, was unable to find the equalizer as its bid for a first state championship came up just short.

“I thought we came out in the first and we had a tough time,” Grand Forks head coach Kelly Kilgore said. “I felt we battled some nerves. I really liked our second period … We carried the play and tilted the ice a little bit back in our favor. The shots kind of started to really turn in our favor.”

Stocker said she wouldn’t have wanted to win a state title as a senior with any other group of teammates.

“(They mean) everything,” Stocker said. “We’re so tight and they’re all my friends. Leaving them is going to be hard. But they mean everything to me. We’re all so close and I love them a lot.”