Students bearing brunt of cuts, Crofts says

If state funding of higher education continues to drop, the only way to continue providing a quality education will be to charge the students more, Richard Crofts said Monday.

"If we don't find ways to generate more state support, it will involve more tuition increases," said Crofts, Montana commissioner of higher education.

Crofts was addressing community leaders and officials from Montana State University-Northern at a luncheon in Havre Monday.

The university system lost about $12.5 million as a result of cuts by the Legislature and Gov. Judy Martz over the summer to eliminate a $57 million...