On-campus residents can expect to part with even more money on top of their rising tuition bill next year.

On Friday, the MSU Board of Trustees approved a 5.25 percent increase to residence hall room and board rates and University Apartments rates. The increasing costs are credited to the rising cost of MSU utilities and funding for the Simon Power Plant expansion.

Unfortunately, growing expenses for tuition and housing are two things that directly affect the ability for students to attend college. The higher the costs, the harder it will be for students of less economic means to get a college education.

What is startling is how these costs keep rising with no end in sight. MSU is in an economic dilemma with more budget cuts expected.

The university has a huge Live On campaign to encourage students to live in the dorms and University Apartments. But making it more expensive for students to live on campus only discourages them from wanting to - especially when cheaper residences can often be found off campus.

The rising rates translate into $286 per year for residence halls and $29 or $32 per month in University Apartments, based on the number of bedrooms. This money could be better used toward something such as textbooks for a semester.

To be fair here, MSU currently has the lowest rates among Michigan's 15 public universities. But it is still frustrating to see these costs rising as we continue to see tuition costs do the same.

On the other end of the spectrum, students need to realize their utility use in the dorms probably affects the cost as well. Students pay a price for the ability to use as much water and electricity as they desire in dorms.

The main concern here is that these rate hikes, combined with tuition raises, might end up affecting students' ability to attend school. Something must be done to prevent the further rise of costs. Students will not be able to foot the bill forever.