The MSU Board of Trustees voted at its June 22 meeting to implement a tuition freeze for in-state freshmen in 2018-19 and a tuition freeze for all undergraduate students in 2019-20.
Funding for the $500 million settlement negotiated between the survivors of ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar and MSU in May will not be drawn from student tuition, according to Trustee Melanie Foster. Foster is chairperson of the board's finance committee.
According to the board's 2018-19 budget proposal, tuition rates will not increase for in-state freshmen in the fall. Out-of-state freshmen will see a $360 increase per academic year, or $1 per day. Resident and non-resident sophomores, juniors and seniors will also see a $360 increase.
Resident and non-resident business and engineering juniors and seniors will see an increase of $540 per semester. The increase was implemented because the average starting salaries for business and engineering graduates are 12 percent and 25 percent higher than most MSU graduates, according to the board.
The board also proposed to freeze 2019-20 rates to establish a block tuition structure for undergraduate students that take between 12 and 18 credit hours. The board said that the block tuition structure would encourage students to pursue more credits per semester, which would allow them to more quickly complete necessary classes.
In June 2017, the board voted to raise tuition by 3.3 percent for in-state freshmen.
The Board of Trustees meeting came just after the University of Michigan Board of Regents announced that it will be increasing tuition rates by 2.9 percent for in-state undergraduate students. The cap for tuition rate increases in Michigan is set at 3.8 percent.
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