EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State University Board of Trustees on Friday extended to incoming freshman the MSU Tuition Guarantee promising to hold tuition increases to a minimum for the next four years. The Board also approved an undergraduate tuition increase of 2.3 percent for the 1999-2000 year.
The 2.3 percent increase - equal to what was approved last year - kept the university's tuition hikes at their lowest rates since the mid-1980s. It also reaffirms the university's promise to keep the cost of high-quality higher education accessible and affordable, MSU President Peter McPherson said.
"The MSU Tuition Guarantee continues," McPherson said. "Our Tuition Guarantee, formulated in December of 1994, set a standard for keeping tuition increases in check, and the university remains committed to that standard." "We're promising incoming freshman that their tuition will increase no more than the approximate rate of inflation during the four years it should take them to graduate, provided that we receive inflation-adjusted support from the state.
"This will be one of the lowest, if not the lowest, tuition increase among Michigan public universities. In a time when many universities around the country are increasing tuition 4 percent or more, it's a standard we're pleased to set."
Under the plan, lower division undergraduate students - typically freshmen and sophomores - will pay $147.25 per credit. Upper division undergraduates will pay $164 per credit. That means that the typical in-state MSU undergraduate student who lives in on-campus housing will pay about $9,000 per academic year.
Tuition will rise 3 percent for graduate students. Financial aid also will be raised 3 percent, as will wages for students who work on campus and wages for graduate assistants.
The final university budget will be established for consideration by the board in July.