MINNEAPOLIS — The University of Minnesota is proposing to maintain a 2012 tuition freeze for two more years and to expand it to graduate and professional schools.

University President Eric Kaler requested $65 million for the extension from the Legislature in the budget presented Thursday to the school’s board of regents. It would avoid increases of 3 percent to 3.5 percent, keeping yearly undergraduate tuition at $12,060 at the Twin Cities campus.

The state spent $42 million for the first two-year undergraduate tuition freeze. The school estimates the extension would save freshmen about $2,100-$2,600 over four years, depending on the campus.

State Sen. Terri Bonoff tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press he doesn’t support the proposal because taxpayers shouldn’t pay for tuition freezes. Bonoff chairs the Senate Finance Committee’s higher education division.