No tuition hike for spring
Grand Valley State University promised its students their tuition would not be raised despite floundering state aid.
Thomas Haas, the university president, will ask his staff to give recommendations on what to cut around the university to keep tuition low.
Haas said in an interview to Central Michigan Life that GVSU will have to put off some projects and make cuts to even out the income loss. GVSU will alter its budget to handle whatever the decrease in state funding may be.
If a Division II university in Michigan can find a way to sustain tuition, why can't CMU?
Administrators state that since tuition was set for the entire year in July, they do not know how state funds will impact CMU.
However, trustees are able to adjust tuition at their next meeting Dec. 4. The board and University President Michael Rao should be taking into consideration GVSU's example rather than not knowing "what's going on with funds at the state level."
In addition, CM Life reported that CMU received $13,274,238 in donations from more than 27,000 public and private sources during the 2007-08 academic year.
Instead of allotting that money toward scholarships, $9,561,234 went toward university operations and $3,713,004 was donated for capital purposes.
Granted, some corporations were donating funds to equally benefit CMU and their organization; undoubtedly alumni and staff donate money that could be set aside in a fund to aid with tuition.
Administrators could use that fund to compensate for the lack of state aid CMU receives.
