An interim budget for the 2005-06 academic school year was approved Friday by the MSU Board of Trustees.
The board voted to permit the operation of the university at its 2004-05 budget expenditure levels until next year's budgets have been established.
Last year, the 2004-05 budget and tuition rates, which included a 2.4-percent hike for in-state students and a 5-percent increase for out-of-state students, were established at the board's June meeting.
Traditionally, MSU sets its tuition rates during its June board meeting, but the university won't decide on tuition rates until the ongoing discussions in the state House and Senate are settled, said Steve Webster, MSU vice president of governmental affairs.
"I've never seen so many fiscal problems on the horizon," Webster said.
The problems include the House's and the Senate's vote on two different funding proposals for the 2005-06 school year, which could show slight increases from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposed $282.1 million budget for MSU, he said.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said none of the proposed funding formulas cover MSU's estimated 3- to 4-percent inflationary costs of fuel and energy.
Students will have to fit part of the increased costs on their tuition bills, set to arrive sometime in late July.
"There will be an increase in tuition," Simon said. "The board is working to keep it as affordable as possible."
Trustee Donald Nugent said MSU has tried to keep tuition low, but it is in a losing battle with legislators for state funding.
"We're at a point when we see we don't have as many close friends in other universities in key positions," Nugent said at the board meeting.
But the tuition-rate delay affects student financial-aid packages, said Director of Financial Aid Rick Shipman.
Shipman said the Office of Financial Aid is waiting on the board and the state Legislature before it can dole out funding for Michigan campus-based programs such as grants or work study, which would affect more than 750 students.
"We have no way of knowing whether or not the money is coming through," Shipman said. "We can't gamble on things like that."
