While Spartans will dish out more green to attend MSU this fall, Wolverines, Chippewas and students at other public universities will do the same.
The average tuition increase for undergraduates at Michigan's 15 public universities is 6.7 percent, which officials at several universities attribute to a drop in state funding during the past few years.
MSU is relying on tuition for about 60 percent of its budget this year, while 40 percent comes from state appropriations. This trend — depending on tuition for funding more than state appropriations — spans the state, with many universities in Michigan depending more and more on student dollars.
MSU determined tuition this year based on students' residency. There is a 5.9 percent increase for students in Michigan and a 6.9 percent increase for out-of-state students. In the past, MSU had different tuition increases for new freshmen and continuing undergraduates.
"With a state university, obviously the people within the state are already supporting that university with their tax dollars and paying more than what's immediately apparent," Mark Luebker, an MSU spokesman said.
University of Michigan spokeswoman Julie Peterson said the university obtains funds from the state, tuition and research grants. Since research money is already allocated to specific projects, state funds and tuition money maintain the academic programs and facilities necessary for the university to function.
"If state funding declines (or) stays flat, tuition will go up, and the more generous state funding is, the more tuition goes down," Peterson said.
State funding for U-M decreased by $37 million since 2002, Peterson said, and the university is still playing catch-up despite a 3 percent increase set by the state in July.
"Tuition is the last number we plug into our budget," she said. "We don't like to raise tuition, but it's inevitable."
While every public university in Michigan raised tuition, each determined students' final bills based on its own programs.
"When comparing tuition among the universities, it's sometimes comparing apples to oranges because each university has different fees and different program costs that might not be reflected in their tuition," said Carol Haas, director of financial planning and budgets at Central Michigan University.
In response to dwindling state appropriations and students' concerns with increasing fees, Central Michigan set up a program that keeps tuition constant for each incoming class over a five-year period. Every class may experience a different tuition increase, Haas said, but the rate is kept constant for each class, leaving no budget surprises.
MSU has a $819.8 million budget this year, Luebker said, which is necessary to provide the best professors, research programs and education it can for students.
"We go out there with the intention to provide the students with the best possible value we can," he said. "We've got a land-grant mission, which is different from so many other universities."
