DETROIT
Wayne State
University’s governing board on
Wednesday approved a 12.8 percent tuition increase, plus a contingency fee of
$13 per credit hour for students this fall.
The tuition and fees increase could add more than $1,200 to
the annual bill of an average freshman from Michigan
taking a full schedule of classes. Total annual tuition and fees would be more
than $8,000.
But the contingency fee could be dropped for the semester
that begins in January, depending on what happens with aid from the state.
The state, struggling with budget problems, is withholding
payments to Michigan’s 15 public
universities this summer.
If Wayne State’s
payment is restored, the university would drop its contingency fee for the
spring semester. That would cut about $195 from the typical student’s bill.
The tuition increases scheduled for this fall at Michigan’s
public universities are among the highest in the nation. University officials
blame declining state aid over the past few years and uncertainty about next
fiscal year’s state budget for the increases.
Some of the universities have left their options open for
the spring semester, saying tuition could be raised or lowered depending on
what happens with state aid.
“The Board of Governors has made a difficult decision,
but under the circumstances raising tuition was their only reasonable
alternative,” Wayne State University President Irvin Reid said in a
statement. “As long as state government is not willing to do its part to
support higher education in Michigan, we are forced to find other ways to
maintain the quality of our academic programs.”
On the Net:
Wayne State University: https://www.wayne.edu/
– Associated Press
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