University approves 3.7% tuition hike

GVSU's Board of Trustees set tuition fees and schedules, general fund budget at July 13 meeting

By ANYA ZENTMEYER

Updated: July 15, 2012, 8:24 PM

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Jim Bachmeier, vice president of finance and administration at Grand Valley State University, moves to pass a 3.7 percent tuition increase during the July 13 Board of Trustees meeting held at the Pew Campus’ Eberhard Center.

Grand Valley State University’s President Thomas J. Haas presents trustees with the president’s Accountability Report during the July 13 Board of Trustees meeting held at the Pew Campus’ Eberhard Center.

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The Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees approved a 3.7 percentage tuition increase for the 2012-2013 academic year today, a per-semester increase of $181 per credit hour. This brings the average yearly tuition for a full-time, in-state student from $9,716 to $10,078.

“The challenge is clear,” said President Thomas J. Haas in a statement released by GVSU’s News and Information Services following the approval. “We are increasing financial aid beyond the increase in tuition and we’re keeping our tuition rate below the state average for public universities. Our graduates are sought after by employers, and we continue to keep high-quality, well-educated workers in the state.”

GVSU is one of the last of Michigan’s 15 public universities to set 2012-2013 tuition rates, and the increase falls in the lower half of rate increases.

“These rates keep GVSU tuition below the state average and below the legislative tuition cap,” said Jim Bachmeier, vice president for finance and administration.

Bachmeier said the increase is largely due to the university’s lack of state funding, which was cut by 15 percent last year, puts GVSU at the very bottom of the state allocation list for per-pupil funding.

The net cost of average yearly tuition for students should fall around $6,200, including scholarships and financial aid – aid that the university plans on boosting to account for the tuition increase that Bachmeier recognized may create financial hardships for students this coming year.

GVSU is expected to receive $52.6 million in state funding, plus a one-time state grand of $2.8 million, the entirety of which trustees say will be used for student financial aid, debt service, capital maintenance and utilities for classroom buildings.

Michael D. Thomas will replace Shelley E. Padnos as the vice chair of the GVSU Board of Trustees. Padnos will serve as the board’s chair, replacing Noreen K Myers.

The trustees also approved the university’s general fund budget at the July 13 meeting for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, containing a $7.2 million increase in expenditures. Since $2.8 million of those base expenditures supported through state appropriation, Bachmeier noted that this leaves $4.4 million in continuing revenue of base expenditures that totals the university budget at $285.2 million.

To view the president’s accountability report, visit http://www.gvsu.edu/accountability/.

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Published July 13, 2012 News, PageOne