They also are expected to implement the university’s 2011-12 Budget Development Guidelines and approve the 2012-13 Preliminary General Fund Budget Guidelines during the meeting.

Per last year’s budget guidelines, the tuition rate increase would not exceed 7.2 percent. Previously, a Senate higher education appropriations committee had struck down a proposal by Gov. Rick Snyder that would penalize schools who raised tuition above the 7 percent mark.

Some students were wary of the potential tuition increase.
“I’m definitely opposed to it,” psychology and zoology sophomore Karli Nave said.

“I guess I would want to know what they were using that money for.”
MSU Trustee Brian Breslin said the tuition increase is essential to maintaining the quality of the university.

“It’s necessary in order to continue the operation of the university at the level that students and faculty expect,” Breslin said. “Probably everybody isn’t happy about having to raise tuition.”

An in-state undergraduate student taking 15 credits for this coming school year would see a tuition increase of about $840 based on last year’s tuition figures, according to the Office of the Registrar.

The potential tuition increase follows on the heels of reduced higher education funding under this year’s new state budget.

MSU is staring down about a 15 percent reduction in appropriations from the state, which equates to a loss of about $43 million. That reduction is greater than the 13 percent drop in funding, which previously was planned for under last year’s guidelines.

Mathematics graduate student Jin Park said the rate increase would affect her ability to pay for classes.

“I think that it’s kind of too high,” she said.

In light of the drop in state funding, financial aid is scheduled to increase by 10 percent over this

coming school year, according to last year’s preliminary budget documents.

Financial aid was expected to increase over this past school year by about 13 percent — a 23 percent increase in total over two years.

The 2009-10 school year saw a drop of about 0.4 percent in state funding from the previous year, yet this year’s loss in funding is a result of efforts by state lawmakers to trim Michigan’s budget deficit.

Despite difficulties faced by university officials, MSU continues to operate with close to the lowest total tuition, fees and appropriation per student in the Big Ten, according to MSU’s 2011-12 appropriation request. MSU ranks second-lowest in the conference in terms of those figures.

MSU Trustee Mitch Lyons remains optimistic the university can deal with funding cuts accordingly.

“Hopefully, we can weather the storm,” he said.