ANN ARBOR (AP) - The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor raised student tuition and fees last Thursday though regents also voted to increase undergraduate financial aid by 10.8 percent.
In-state undergraduate tuition will go up 3.9 percent starting in the fall as part of the school's nearly $2 billion budget. That's below a 4.2 percent in-state cap instituted by the state Legislature. Schools that go over the cap could lose some state aid dollars.
The increase for students in most graduate and professional programs is 3.9 percent.
Tuition and fees for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Michigan's Flint and Dearborn campuses will go up by 4.1 percent. And Michigan State University approved increases of 3.7 percent for freshmen and sophomores, 3.9 percent for juniors and seniors and 4.2 percent for out-of-state undergrads.
At the Ann Arbor campus, first-year in-state undergraduates in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts will pay $14,402, an increase of $546. Out-of-state students will pay 4.4 percent more.
Room-and-board rates also will go up 3 percent. The cost per student for a double room with a basic meal plan will total $10,872 for the fall and winter terms, an increase of $318.
Provost Martha Pollack said last Thursday that despite the higher tuition, the net cost for students living in the state to attend the university has not increased over the past seven years.
The tuition hike, which passed on a 5-3 vote, caused some consternation among regents
"Are we raising tuition because we can, rather than because we need to?" regent Andrea Fischer Newman asked.
Regent Denise Ilitch believes a task force should be started to consider avenues other than tuition increases to cover the university's rising costs.
Published: Mon, Jun 20, 2016
