Increasing fees the common sense solution
Issue date: 3/11/03 Section: News
Everyone is talking about how much tuition will be raised next fall because of the funding cuts that are being imposed by the state of Michigan. To help counteract these cuts UM-Flint should institute new fees and possibly increase some existing ones.
The University of Michigan-Flint is experiencing additional cuts of $361,000 out of the total $25,497,600 in cuts to higher education on top of a 2% cut that was issued in December 2002. These cuts come after an executive order issued by Governor Granholm on Feb. 19 was approved by the Michigan Legislature.
So, in reality what will these cuts mean to the students' checkbooks this fall? They almost guarantee a raise in tuition. UM-Flint has one of the lowest tuition rates in the state. According to the 2002-2003 report on tuition and fees issued by the Presidents Council of State Universities of Michigan, the average tuition of the 15 public universities was $5,247.47 while UM-Flint's tuition was only $4,752 making it the fourth lowest in the state (tuition rates are for the undergraduate lower division for Michigan residents.)
In our last issue, we gave a list of common sense solutions that the university as a whole could implement to help compensate for these funding cuts. However, this time we will outline some areas where the university could make up revenue for some groups at the university without raising tuition.
As much as we all complain about the fees that are added on to our tuition at the beginning of each semester, UM-Flint still has some of the lowest fees in the state.
Two areas where fees have not been explored are in graduation and parking fees. Six of the fifteen public universities charge a graduation fee that averages around $28.33 per student. In addition to this, eight universities charge some sort of fee for parking while UM-Flint does not charge their students anything. (Although, it should be noted that faculty and staff are charged for their parking passes.)
In addition, some of the existing fees imposed by UM-Flint are among the lowest in the state. One example of this is the $12 student activities fee. Out of the schools with similar fees only Lake Superior State University has a lower rate at $10. The average fee is over $20 and many schools include additional fees for student unions and other buildings that house student clubs and organizations.
The technology fee is also relatively low in comparison to other universities that charge this type of fee to their students. The average technology fee is $63.40 while UM-Flint's is only $50.
These figures do not include other areas where UM-Flint falls behind including late registration, transfer orientation, and application fees.
These figures prove that there are other areas that the university can increase revenue without raising tuition to compensate for cuts to departments and organizations on campus. Of course, we all complain about the fees that we pay each semester, but it makes sense to increase or institute some fees to help make up for the budget crisis that exists. After all, how often would each of us have to pay things like a graduation or application fee?
To read past editorials and articles concerning the budget crisis visit our archives.
The University of Michigan-Flint is experiencing additional cuts of $361,000 out of the total $25,497,600 in cuts to higher education on top of a 2% cut that was issued in December 2002. These cuts come after an executive order issued by Governor Granholm on Feb. 19 was approved by the Michigan Legislature.
So, in reality what will these cuts mean to the students' checkbooks this fall? They almost guarantee a raise in tuition. UM-Flint has one of the lowest tuition rates in the state. According to the 2002-2003 report on tuition and fees issued by the Presidents Council of State Universities of Michigan, the average tuition of the 15 public universities was $5,247.47 while UM-Flint's tuition was only $4,752 making it the fourth lowest in the state (tuition rates are for the undergraduate lower division for Michigan residents.)
In our last issue, we gave a list of common sense solutions that the university as a whole could implement to help compensate for these funding cuts. However, this time we will outline some areas where the university could make up revenue for some groups at the university without raising tuition.
As much as we all complain about the fees that are added on to our tuition at the beginning of each semester, UM-Flint still has some of the lowest fees in the state.
Two areas where fees have not been explored are in graduation and parking fees. Six of the fifteen public universities charge a graduation fee that averages around $28.33 per student. In addition to this, eight universities charge some sort of fee for parking while UM-Flint does not charge their students anything. (Although, it should be noted that faculty and staff are charged for their parking passes.)
In addition, some of the existing fees imposed by UM-Flint are among the lowest in the state. One example of this is the $12 student activities fee. Out of the schools with similar fees only Lake Superior State University has a lower rate at $10. The average fee is over $20 and many schools include additional fees for student unions and other buildings that house student clubs and organizations.
The technology fee is also relatively low in comparison to other universities that charge this type of fee to their students. The average technology fee is $63.40 while UM-Flint's is only $50.
These figures do not include other areas where UM-Flint falls behind including late registration, transfer orientation, and application fees.
These figures prove that there are other areas that the university can increase revenue without raising tuition to compensate for cuts to departments and organizations on campus. Of course, we all complain about the fees that we pay each semester, but it makes sense to increase or institute some fees to help make up for the budget crisis that exists. After all, how often would each of us have to pay things like a graduation or application fee?
To read past editorials and articles concerning the budget crisis visit our archives.