With state aid down, U-M hikes tuition

School is undergoing budget cuts; Ann Arbor students face 7.4% jump.

Marisa Schultz / The Detroit News

ANN ARBOR -- Students heading to the University of Michigan this fall will face a 7.4 percent tuition increase -- or an average of $740 a year for undergraduates.

The U-M board of regents approved the rate hike Thursday and characterized it as "modest" in light of the severe shortfall of state funds that has prompted other Michigan universities to implement double-digit tuition increases.

"Time and time again we've made the cuts and we've done the reforms," said Regent S. Martin Taylor, noting U-M has slashed $120 million in costs in five years. "We've done those things and then we recognized that (in order) to keep Michigan great, we have to increase revenues."

Under the tuition increase, lower-division students will pay $10,448 per year, up from $9,734 last year. For upperclassmen, the cost will go up $816 a year, to $11,776.

But a 7.4 percent increase is too much, according to students protesting on campus Thursday. Now's the time to ensure college is affordable and accessible, they said.

"Students at U-M can't afford another tuition hike," said Travis Radina, a U-M senior, who also addressed the board members.

Access remains a top priority, said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. That's why U-M increased financial aid 11.5 percent as well. Additional grants and scholarships, not loans, should offset the increased tuition cost for middle- and low-income Michigan students, officials said.

With state funding to universities drying up, eight other Michigan public colleges have approved tuition hikes this summer, ranging from 8 percent to 21 percent. On average, these tuition and fee increases cost the typical undergraduate student $960 more a year.

Hammered by six years of state appropriations reductions, U-M has taken considerable cost-cutting measures, from motion sensors that activate lights only when someone's in a classroom to reducing the number of deans in the College of Engineering, said U-M Provost Teresa Sullivan. "But finding additional things to cut is getting harder and harder."

In 1960, state funds comprised nearly 80 percent of U-M's budget; now that's 24 percent, and tuition is the largest stream of revenue, she said.

"We are in a situation in which our state appropriation has been under considerable pressure," Sullivan said.

Regent Andrea Fisher Newman encouraged the university to raise money to endow tuition, since state support of education has declined considerably and tuition keeps rising. "If the trend that we are looking at continues, we'll price education out of the reach for people in the state," Newman said.

Earlier this year, the U-M regents approved room and board rates increases. For a standard double room with a 13-meal plan, the cost increased from $7,808 to $8,190.

The regents also approved tuition increases at the Flint and Dearborn campuses, 6.4 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. For 30 credits, an undergraduate will pay on average $7,392 at U-M Flint and $8,008 at U-M Dearborn, including the required fees.

You can reach Marisa Schultz at (313) 222-2310 or mschultz@detnews.com.