In a rare 6-2 vote, the University Board of Regents passed a 5.6-percent tuition rate increase for both in-state and out-of-state University undergraduates for the 2009-2010 academic year at its June 18 meeting.

The rate increase will bring the annual cost of tuition to $11,659 for in-state undergraduates in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts and $34,937 for out-of-state undergraduates.

The tuition rate figure represents a $622 increase in annual tuition for an in-state undergraduate and an additional $1,868 for an out-of-state undergraduate.

The regents also approved a 5.6-percent increase for students in the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, a 6.7-percent increase for students attending the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a 6.5-percent increase for the Flint campus.

University Provost Teresa Sullivan described the increase — which is the same as last year’s rate increase for in-state and out-of-state undergraduate students — as modest compared to other public institutions in the Big Ten.

“This represents an average rate of growth and tuition that’s been among the lowest of public universities in Michigan and also in the Big Ten,” Sullivan said.

Not all public institutions have approved tuition rates for undergraduate students for the 2009-2010 academic year. But, Michigan State University approved a rare two-year budget plan, which includes a 5.2-percent tuition increase for the upcoming academic year and a 4.9-percent increase for the next academic year.

If MSU receives federal stimulus dollars, the tuition rate increase for this fall could be reduced to about 2.5 percent.

Additionally, Ohio State University announced in March that it will not increase tuition rates for Ohio residents for the next academic year.

The tuition rate increase, combined with enrollment changes, will bring in a projected $54 million in revenue for the University.

Regents Julia Darlow (D–Ann Arbor) and Denise Ilitch (D–Bingham Farms) voted against the tuition increase, breaking the regents' two-year streak of unanimous approval of the budget.

Ilitch said she believes University students should not be forced to pay an increase in tuition, especially with the state’s current economic situation.

“Just like families across Michigan are doing during these tough times, we need to re-evaluate our priorities and our budgets,” Ilitch said. “We have to fix our budget crisis from within — not on the backs of working students and families.”

Ilitch added that University administration could improve the budget by making more internal adjustments.

“It is my firm belief that we must find new revenue sources and new ways to contain costs, identify additional cuts that can be made at every level, contain costs by centralizing more functions to avoid duplicative efforts and tighten our belts and make the same difficult sacrifices made every day by the hardworking people that attend our fine institution,” Ilitch said.

Sullivan said that in light of Michigan’s economic slump, it was difficult for her and the Budget Committee to determine the budget for the 2010 fiscal year.

“We find ourselves in the middle of a very difficult economic time, not just for the state of Michigan, but worldwide,” Sullivan said. “And so it has been a very challenging time for us to put together a budget. The budget team has worked harder this year than ever before.”

The budget takes into account an estimated state appropriation of $316.6 million for next year — a $10.4 million decrease from this year’s amount — and is waiting to be approved by the House of Representatives, Senate and Gov.