ST. PAUL

The governors of Minnesota and Wisconsin said Friday that they settled a long-simmering tuition reciprocity dispute without making students pay more to attend universities in either state.

Their pact means that starting in the fall of 2008, Wisconsin students attending higher-priced University of Minnesota schools will see a bigger number on their bills but the state will kick in the difference in the form of a "tuition reciprocity supplement."

Until now, Wisconsin has made annual payments to Minnesota's general fund to cover the gap between Minnesota and Wisconsin resident tuition rates, but that money hasn't gone directly to the Minnesota higher education systems. Soon, it will. More than $7 million a year is at stake.

"It's been a sore spot," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said on his weekly radio show on WCCO-AM. "You shouldn't have a situation where a Wisconsin student is sitting next to a Minnesota student in a Minnesota classroom and have the Wisconsin student paying less."

The deal continues a nearly 40-year-old tuition reciprocity pact between the two states. It needs approval from the boards of the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and some legislation from Wisconsin lawmakers.

Wisconsin Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, said the agreement benefits Wisconsin students and their families by "keeping the cost of obtaining a college degree within reach."

Rhoades, co-chairwoman of the Legislature's budget committee, represents a western Wisconsin district that sends many students to Twin Cities campuses.

About 11,400 Wisconsin students go to Minnesota for a higher education, while about 13,600 Minnesotans cross in the other direction.

Wisconsin will send payments directly to Minnesota campuses at the end of each semester to cover the tuition they lose from admitting Wisconsin students, said Connie Hutchison, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board.