Rising expenses

University raises tuition nearly 4 percent

Last Thursday, the University Board of Regents approved a 3.9 percent increase in tuition as part of the University's 1998-99 budget. In addition to the tuition increase, LS&A students will have an extra $30 per semester tacked on as a technology fee. While the need for a large increase is needed to improve the University, the $30 fee to LS&A students is particularly burdensome, and the University should find ways to reduce future tuition increases.

While adding fees to tuition is nothing new, the technology fee is particularly costly in light of the already large tuition increase. Adding $30 takes the overall University tuition increase of 3.9 percent and raises it another 1 percent for LS&A students. Keeping up with technological advancements is something the University should strive for, but the University should look at other sources of funding rather than creating extra expenses for students. For many students, the cost of education at the University is very difficult to raise. Extra fees like this, while they may seem small to some, can possibly drive the price too high and contribute to the University's dropout rate.

While the increase will improve aspects of the University, it damages students' financial concerns in another way aside from the obvious. The state of Michigan gives a tuition tax credit to students whose colleges or universities keep their tuition increases at or below the rate of inflation. For this year, the rate of inflation is approximately 2.3 percent - a great deal less than the 3.9 percent increase, and about half the rate increase for LS&A students. The University must take into account such benefits for students when setting up its budget, and attempt to reach this credit for students whenever possible.

The University should involve students when designing the budget. This year, students were unable to look at the budget until it was made public at Thursday's meeting. This is not the best system, as students provide the shoulders on which most of the financial burden falls. Obviously, with so much financial responsibility, student input should have some impact on the University's budget. Such feedback can bring attention to student concerns that the administration might not be aware of, and make future budgets more student-friendly while maintaining the University as a leading institution.

Also, as MSA President Trent Thompson noted during public comments, students generally will support a tuition increase if they understand why more money is needed and what aspects of the University will benefit from the increase. By not including students when developing the budget, the University leaves many students wondering where their money goes.

Fretting students can take heart that the increases will be used to keep the University competitive with other top-flight institutions. Often underpaid when compared to similar institutions, University faculty will see wage increases on a scale of 4 to 5 percent. To keep the best instructors in their fields, the University has to pay wages commensurate with the instructors' skills, and this should encourage many of them to stay in Ann Arbor.

As a whole, the University's tuition increase will be used to improve the academics at the University. And that in turn benefits University students. But the extra fee assessed to LS&A students definitely overburdens many on campus, and the University needs to do more to ensure that student concerns play a greater part in future budgets. The University must remain affordable at the same time that it stays academically competitive.

07-20-98