Leah Borkowski did not know she was receiving a 10 percent tuition discount while taking Central Michigan University classes until last semester.

It is because CMU’s Board of Trustees approved a tuition rate specifically for CMU parents in April 2009.

The 3, 6, 9 percent plan that the university is imposing on every department shouldn’t be the only method of saving money at CMU. Alumni donations and innovative thinking can ease the need for budget cuts.

CMU’s operating budget may be complicated to comprehend.
But it is all a matter of breaking it down.

Students who think they will graduate in four years may have to think again. According to Central Michigan University’s Office of Institutional Research, 19 percent of freshmen who entered the university in 2004 graduated within four years. Of those who entered in 2002, 57 percent graduated within six years.

The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees approved a 4.6 percent tuition increase in July, or $450 per 30 credit hours. We tell you what you could have done with that kind of money.

Chelsea Jacobs is like many of the bright-faced incoming Central Michigan University students.

Yet, classes and college life are not the only things Rochester Hills freshman is anticipating.

And her feelings may be shared around the state.