Michigan State University: Why the Tuition Increase

According to Michigan States website The Budget guidelines were based on a 15 percent reduction in state Funding. This year’s the state funded about $241.1 million, a decrease of $42.6 million from 2010-11.

Michigan State Assistant Budget Officer Brent Johnston assured that the budget increase was not only unavoidable, but necessary for MSU to remain a top 100 university in the nation. The increase is offsetting the $42.6 million reduction, while not taking into account recent renovations and projects.

“Media outlets have been publishing articles on the tuition increase that don’t tell the story in its entirety,” Johnston said. “They make it seem as if the university is simply sitting on reserves. The phrasing is very specific and vacuous.”

Johnston went on to point out that the university has been working diligently and efficiently, enacting reductions of over $123 million.

“We prefer not to raise the tuition and are very aware that it can become a burden to students who have varying abilities to pursue higher education at MSU,” Johnston said. “We’ve taken that into consideration, as a matter of fact, the number of students who come from a household with an income of lower than 30,000 has increased among those who apply for financial aid.”

            Financial aid has increased by 300 percent over the last 10 years according to Johnston. 10 million dollars was added to financial aid for this year.

            “Financial aid has really helped me out, and without it I wouldn’t be able to go to school here,” Michigan State junior Viktor Simovski Said. “Financial aid gives an opportunity to students, who otherwise wouldn’t have had one, and I think it’s great that MSU is allocating a large chunk of money towards it. As soon as some people see an increase in tuition, they immediately dismissed it as the university milking more money from students, and that’s not fair.”