Students at private colleges and universities throughout the state will see an average tuition increase of 6.1 percent for the fall.
But some say the increase remains consistent with nationwide averages and simply represents a continuation of a trend in increases from the past 10 years.
The state's 47 private colleges and universities in Michigan announced tuition will be raising an average of 6.1 percent to $15,859 this fall. And the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities is predicting a national tuition rate increase average of 6 percent. This is reflective of last year's national average, association spokesman Tony Pals said.
"It's consistent with what we've seen over the last 10 years," Pals said, adding the national average annual increase during that time has been 5.5 percent.
Because independent or private schools don't receive state funding, tuition revenue accounts for 90 percent of the funds private colleges and universities use to cover expenses.
Increases in the cost of salary and benefits for faculty and staff members, along with the increased costs of information technology have been the main culprits behind tuition increases, Pals said.
Tuition rates at Michigan's 15 public universities have continually fluctuated in the past few years. Yet rate increases at the state's private colleges and universities has remained relatively steady.
Adrian College already has set a 6.25 percent increase for the fall, making tuition for freshmen $17,600 annually, said Michael Hague, the school's associate vice president for financial services.
That increase is larger than last year's tuition increase of 5.85 percent, and represents only the third time in the past 10 years the school has seen an increase greater than 5 percent.
"We keep our tuition increases low, generally because our tuition is already higher than public universities," Hague said. "We're smaller, so we have less major fluctuations in expenses."
He blamed the school's high cost of tuition this year on market declines on the school's endowments, or financial gifts made to the college.
Although Hague said total endowments for the 2004-05 fiscal year are showing a slight gain, the previous two years showed consecutive losses as a result of the economic downturn after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
During the past decade, increases in student aid have consistently outpaced tuition rate increases nationwide. The association found that in the past 10 years, student aid at private institutions has increased by 197 percent, while tuition rates have increased by 86 percent.
Hague said that although this statistic might seem encouraging, it doesn't mean all students are receiving the necessary funding to offset the increased tuition costs.
"On average, our financial aid increases each year, but it doesn't work for every student," he said. "Our goal is to keep costs low for every student, but since we receive no direct funding from the state, it's up to tuition, endowment and donors to provide the funding."
