Regents approve tuition increase
Leah GraboskiJuly 23rd, 2006
Students will pay more to take classes at the University this year. For most students, the 5.5-percent tuition hike - approved by the University Board of Regents Friday - will amount to $510 more in tuition and fees than last year.
The increase is not out of the ordinary - tuition has increased every year since 2001. This year's hike is a much softer blow than the 12.3-percent increase last year. The tentatively agreed upon 3-percent increase in funding from the state government this year has allowed the University to increase tuition more moderately.
In-state LSA students will pay $9,723 in tuition and fees with the 5.5-percent increase, as compared to $9,213 last year.
With the exception of the Art, Music and Nursing schools - which each face a 6.6-percent hike - other University schools and colleges are raising tuition at the same rate.
Due to technology upgrades, tuition for the College of Engineering will increase by 7 percent.
Out-of-state students will also see a 5.5-percent increase - raising their tuition to $29,131 per year.
In step with the tuition hike, the regents also approved a 7.7-percent increase in financial aid.
The University prides itself on its ability to increase financial aid at the same rate as tuition, said Phil Hanlon, associate provost for academic and budgetary affairs. Hanlon is the chief budget manager for University Provost Teresa Sullivan, who has the lead role in allocating the University's resources.
The Office of Financial Aid estimates that students paid an average of about $19,643 to live and attend school here last year. This approximation includes tuition and fees, books, room and board and miscellaneous costs.
The bulk of financial aid recipients - those with family incomes between $60,001 and $80,000 - received an average of $9,904 in aid last year. The University expects students or families to cover the remaining cost of $9,739, although they can also borrow up to this amount in federal and private loans.
But according to a June state-by-state report analysis of student debt by the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Democrats and the Democratic Policy Committee, Michigan families spend 32 percent of their income to pay for one year at four-year public universities - even after accounting for financial aid.
The report also shows that the 56 percent of Michigan undergraduates who take out loans to pay for college owe about $17,941 in loan payments upon graduation.
School of Education Prof. Edward St. John, said the college-cost burden has now transitioned from reliance on tax dollars to students and families.
But St. John said that given the financial aid available, the tuition increase "really isn't that much of a burden on students."
The University faces a $80.5 million deficit this year.
Aside from tuition increases, Hanlon said the University will continue to work on other cost-containment measures.
Students have more impact on the efficiencies of the University than they are aware, St. John said.
There is a built-in market within the University surrounding students' declaration of concentrations, he said. Students' tuition is directed at the school in which they declare a concentration.
St. John said that because many students enter the University undeclared, funds reside in LSA until they declare. Even for students who remain in LSA, concentration declaration affects University decisions about hiring faculty.
If students were more organized in declaring their concentrations, St. John said, the University could respond by providing the necessary faculty.
"The equivalent of voting booths is major selection," St. John said. By declaring a major, students are in a way voting for the concentration to which the University allocates its funds, he said.
When too few students declare majors within a school at the University, St. John said that drastic cuts are made to contain costs.
For example, St. John said for students that desire to go on to become teachers, they tend to declare majors late - and the School of Education suffers.
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