MSU ranks sixth in the Big Ten for resident tuition fees and cost of attendance.
When it comes to setting budget and tuition rates, MSU Trustee Brian Mosallam said raising tuition is looked to as a final resort; but this year, even after cuts to faculty health benefits, their backs were against the wall.
“Raising tuition is the absolute last option with what we want to do,” Mosallam said. “There are certain things we’ve got to do, and what we’ve got to do is keep Michigan State moving forward.”
Despite an average tuition increase of 2.8 percent for the 2013-14 academic year, a list from the U.S. Department of Education has shown Michigan public universities to be among the cheapest when compared to options in other states.
With North Dakota’s public universities ranking the highest in tuition hikes, with a 31.6 percent increase from 2009-11, Michigan has the 38th highest, with a 1.9 percent decrease. But when compared to other public universities in Michigan alone, MSU ranks third-highest in tuition and total costs.
The smaller rate reflects the $4.4 million increase MSU received in state appropriations. But after years of decreases in funding from the state, Trustee Dianne Byrum said MSU still has a long way to go.
“MSU has experienced significant decreases in our state appropriation since I have been on the Board (of Trustees), and tuition rates are directly related to state support,” Byrum said.
“Two years ago we had a 15 percent cut in state appropriation followed the next year by 0 percent, yet costs don’t decline or remain stagnant.”
Dave Byelich, MSU’s assistant vice president and director for the Office of Planning and Budgets, said the university has had to make many sacrifices, such as health benefits for new faculty members, to remain stable.
“(Health care) is one of the changes we have to make in lieu of tough economic times, and I believe it’s at the point now where we are stable and we can look forward to the institution moving forward,” Byelich said.
To bring down tuition in the future, Mosallam said the university should encourage more fundraising, strengthen alumni relations and increase its endowment fund.
“It’s going to take a complete buy-in from the Michigan State community and the alumni culture,” he said. “It’s going to take the organization years to breed that kind of culture, when our students are in school and know that the alumni base across the country is willing and able to help them get jobs when they graduate and give back.”
But in Byrum’s mind, the true help must come from the state level, not just from the university.
“Michigan needs a statewide discussion on why education is a public good and deserves the dedication of an investment in resources to support it,” she said. “It is my hope that we have seen the end of negative state appropriations and we are in a period of increased investment in education and higher education in particular.”
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