The expected tuition hike for MSU has finally come, and at 13.5 percent for new students and 9.3 percent for returning students, it's a hefty one. On Thursday, the MSU Board of Trustees approved the increase as part of the 2005-06 budget.
After years of restraint by the administration, during which MSU students saw modest tuition increases, this comes as a new development. Granted, there was a 9.9 percent jump in 2003-04, but last year tuition rose a mere 2.4 percent, and for much of the '90s MSU kept tuition increases below 3 percent.
Decreases in state funding, plus increases in health-care and energy costs are some of the reasons cited for the financial woes of MSU. In the past, Michigan's public universities agreed with the state government to keep tuition increases below the rate of inflation in exchange for stable funding, but the state failed to keep its end of the bargain. Matters such as these are largely out of the trustees' control, so in this sense they are hard to blame.
On the bright side, tuition at MSU is rising slower than at Central Michigan University and Wayne State University, which approved increases of 19 percent for new students and 18.5 percent, respectively.
In addition, financial aid at MSU will benefit from the new budget in the form of a 15 percent raise, amounting to $6.4 million. The students who need financial assistance the most will still receive it. MSU's Financial Aid Director Richard Shipman said in a press release that the new budget will decrease out-of-pocket costs for the neediest students.
Perhaps those who will feel the increases the most are neither rich nor poor but somewhere in between. Naturally this is a concern because MSU is a moderately affordable school - not as expensive as such schools as the University of Michigan or Michigan Tech, but not as low-cost as many of Michigan's other public universities.
The great majority of MSU students come from within the state, and keeping tuition low will help to keep Michiganians coming here. Although the administration might want to increase the out-of-state enrollment, the fact remains that MSU is a local institution with an international and out-of-state flavor, not the other way around.
College, of course, is a major source of young professionals, so the question is how to get more people to come to college in Michigan and stay within the state. A low tuition is just one of the ways to do this, but it's worth making note of. The Cool Cities Initiative also tries to keep 20-somethings in Michigan but it is really a minimal factor compared to the influence of colleges.
The lower tuition is, the better. Other things such as the quality of education and the amount of financial aid available are also top concerns. So far, it seems the Board of Trustees is doing a decent job with this tough juggling act, in spite of dwindling funding from the state.
In 1965, 80 percent of the costs of public universities in Michigan were covered by the state, but this has shrunk to around 40 percent today. In terms of getting funding, it's a rough time for public institutions.
