Two-tiered tuition not likely at CMU

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Interim Provost Gary Shapiro said two-tiered tuition is not something officials are seriously considering.

The system, which would focus on lower prices for 100-200 level undergraduate courses, was one of many Central Michigan University budget cut options recently suggested to the Senior Staff Budget Advisory Group.

The suggestion, released in February as one of a group made to the SSBAG, noted CMU is losing market share to community colleges, and lowering prices of these courses may help attract more students.

“Budgeting implications would be very negative,” said Shapiro, who also is co-chairman of the SSBAG. “It would not be beneficial for the university.”

Ethan Pauwels, a Fraser junior, said lowering tuition for 100-200 level courses will help students afford classes.

However, he said tuition should not be lowered if it impacts the university negatively.

“I would love to see this happen. It would definitely impact the younger students and probably impact the recruiting numbers for CMU,” he said. “The only way I wouldn’t want to see this implemented is if it would have a negative impact on the university’s ability to provide the best level of education for students.”

Negative effects

Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president of financial services and reporting, said the idea would have adverse effects on CMU.

CMU cannot match the low prices of community colleges, and most two-tier systems do not operate the way the suggestion states, he said.

“(We) don’t believe lowering the tuition rate for incoming freshmen will be positive revenue,” Wilkes said.

The suggestion made to the SSBAG requests for lower level courses to have a reduced cost, where most two-tier systems do not lower the tuition rate for 100-200 level courses, but actually increase the upper level courses’ rate, Wilkes said.

According to data provided by the President’s Council Report on Tuition and Fees for 2007-08, Michigan State University, Oakland University and Wayne State University have a system in place where the price is different between freshmen/sophomores and juniors/seniors.

CMU, Eastern Michigan University and Northern Michigan University charge per credit hour for tuition.

“There are some challenges to implementing (a two-tiered system),” Wilkes said.

One challenge is the varying number of incoming freshmen from year to year.

In order to get the same revenue with the courses at the lower rate, the number of incoming freshmen needs to increase, Wilkes said.

“The number of high school graduates in Michigan is getting smaller and smaller,” he said.

Wilkes said access to higher education is becoming an issue for those who want to attend universities. Keeping tuition affordable is necessary and to raise upper-level course rates would not make sense.

If CMU were to match community college rates, which may be as low as $90, the university would have a big loss in revenue, Wilkes said.

Though the two-tier system is not a current option for the university, Wilkes said, it does not mean it will never again be considered.