Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why did Wayne State have to increase tuition?
A: Wayne State received the largest cut in state funding in its history. Our Board of Governors raised tuition as a last resort in order to balance the budget and protect the quality of our teaching and research.
The primary sources of funds for public universities are state appropriations and tuition. When state appropriations are reduced, universities sometimes are forced to raise tuition. Of the 50 states, Michigan ranks 50th in increases to higher education over the past decade. This record is endangering the quality and affordability of higher education in the state.
This year’s reduction in state appropriations equates to $1,000 less per student. The tuition increase offsets this cut by less than half.
Q: How much will tuition increase this year?
A: The Board of Governors voted to increase tuition by 6.9 percent for Michigan-resident undergraduate students for the 2011-12 academic year. The board also approved a 7.1 percent increase for graduate programs, a 4.9 percent increase in tuition for the Law School and a 5.9 percent increase for the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. A 3 percent increase was approved in April for the School of Medicine.
Wayne State’s tuition is 13th among Michigan’s 15 public universities, and is by far the lowest of the three major research universities. It continues to be a great value relative to other universities.
Q: How much will tuition be for the 2011-12 school year?
A: With the 6.9 percent tuition increase, a typical Michigan-resident freshman will pay $18.55 more per credit hour than in 2010-11. This equals $223 per semester for students taking a full load of 12 credit hours. The cost of tuition (two semesters or 24 credit hours) at Wayne State for full-time Michigan-resident students now comes to $6,889.20 (not including fees).
Q: Why can’t Wayne State find ways to cut costs rather than raise tuition?
A: The University has implemented permanent cuts in operating expenses of nearly $80 million since 2002, including $29 million this year. Over the years, this has been accomplished through eliminating a college, combining two colleges, consolidating departments, eliminating positions, implementing hiring and salary freezes, permanently reducing travel and supply budgets, streamlining operations and other initiatives.
The $29 million cut for 2012, while difficult to achieve, makes up only a portion of the state funding cut. Unfortunately, the only other option available both to balance the budget and maintain the quality of our teaching and research is increased tuition.
Q: Will Wayne State help students offset the tuition increase with financial aid?
A: Wayne State continues to offer an array of strong financial aid packages and scholarship opportunities. Wayne State has nearly doubled its institutional financial aid in the past five years, including an additional 8.7 percent for the coming year. If all student financial aid options are included, financial aid has tripled in just the past three years. Eighty-two percent of the university's undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid.
Wayne State continues its overall tradition of affordability, while ensuring that students with the greatest financial need have access to a premier research university.
Q: Will academic programs and services change with the increase?
A: The University’s primary focus in addressing the budget challenge is ensuring the integrity of its core mission of teaching and research.
In FY 2012, Wayne State intends to continue its investment in academic enhancements. These include increasing the number of full-time, tenure and tenure-track faculty; improving retention and graduation rates; improving customer service; and growing its research reputation.
Q: Wayne State receives a higher state per-student appropriation than most other schools; why does it still need to raise tuition?
A: Historically, Wayne State has relied far more on state appropriations to maintain its affordable tuition. With continued cuts in higher education funding, Wayne State has been forced to raise tuition to protect the excellence of its teaching and research. In the past, Wayne State received two-thirds of its operating funds from the state and the other third from tuition. Today, the opposite is true—approximately two-thirds of Wayne State’s funding comes from students, while the state covers one-third.
Also, if state appropriation per student was calculated based only on in-state students, the results would be different. For example, 96 percent of WSU undergraduates are from Michigan; at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, only slightly more than 64 percent of undergraduates are state residents.
Q: How can you rationalize giving faculty pay raises when you’re charging students and their families more money?
A: Even in difficult financial times, hiring and retaining valuable employees and faculty requires competitive compensation. Still, our administrative costs, measured as a percentage of total costs, are among the lowest of the state’s public universities. And these costs have decreased as a percentage of our overall budget over the past several years.
Wayne State has shown relative fiscal constraint. For fiscal years 2003 through 2010, the average annual compensation increase for administrative employees was 2.1 percent, compared to the average annual Higher Education Price Index of 3.6 percent.
Also, unlike many other institutions, Wayne State does not have a defined benefit pension plan or a retiree health plan. Therefore we have no unfunded liabilities. The University also has taken a number of initiatives to control health care costs. Over the past five years, the average increase in medical costs for Wayne State was 2.7 percent, compared with the national average of 11.4 percent.