‘Modest’ increase voted NMU tuition up 4.8 percent
‘Modest’ increase voted NMU tuition up 4.8 percent
| The Northern Michigan University board discusses tuition increases at its special meeting on Monday. The board voted 6-2 in favor of a 4.8 percent increase in tuition and fees for the 2006-2007 school year. (Journal photo by Christopher Diem) |
By CHRISTOPHER DIEM, Journal Staff Writer
The tuition increase comes on the heels of a tentative agreement between Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan legislature to increase Northern’s appropriations by 3 percent, or $1.3 million.
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“Our decision to raise tuition is predicated on our desire to maintain the quality of programs, to sustain our efforts in a number of initiatives and yet keep our tuition increases modest,” NMU President Les Wong said.
Resident undergraduate students will pay $233 per credit in the fall, an increase of $11 from last year. Resident undergraduates taking 15 credits will pay $3,070 a semester, up $141.26 from a year ago.
Non-resident undergraduates will pay $397 per credit hour, up $19 from last year. Those that take 15 credits will pay $5,038 per semester, an increase of $237 from last fall.
Wong said the increase in state appropriations will help pay for some capital projects and deferred maintenance on buildings — projects that the university has been putting off during lean fiscal years.
Projects include upgrading the Cohodas Administrative Center to an instructional building, maintenance in Jamrich Hall and an alternative fuel project.
Trustees Jack LaSalle and Brian Cloyd voted against the resolution.
LaSalle said he was in favor of a 5.1 percent increase in tuition, saying the three-tenths of 1 percent difference wouldn’t have negatively impacted students and would have provided additional help in funding university projects.
The appropriations increase will also be used to raise stipends for graduate assistants.
“We discovered that our graduate assistant stipends are among the lowest in the state,” Wong said. “Just like keeping high quality faculty, if we want to keep high quality graduate assistants we have to make some kind of response to their inadequate stipends.”
Board Chairman Karl Weber said he was pleased with the 3 percent increase in appropriations from the state.
“Since I’ve been here any appropriation increases have been practically zilch,” he said.
Wong said during his two years at Northern he has seen a shift in the Legislature from tuition restraint to cutting funding for the university to now supporting it.
“I think it’s a testament to the Legislature recognizing that universities are a key part of the economic engine,” he said.
The board will present an overall general fund budget at its Aug. 10-11 meeting.
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