Putting tuition in tiers
As Central Michigan University plans its tuition rate for the upcoming year, it should adopt a tiered tuition model.
The model may not be popular, but it will help keep CMU's tuition rate competitive.
University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Western Michigan University all use tiered tuition, under which upperclassmen pay more per credit hour than freshmen and sophomores.
The clearest benefit is that the model allows for more flexibility in setting tuition rates for freshmen and sophomores, many of whom might be considering community college or transferring from a less expensive institution.
Freshmen and sophomores often have options that juniors and seniors do not. Competing with those options, such as community college, requires putting in place additional financial incentives. A tiered tuition model would be more responsive to this fact.
The model would help recruit freshmen and sophomores who may not attend CMU if charged a flat, but initially higher, rate.
Tiered tuition may come across as arbitrary, as there seems to be no clear reason that juniors and seniors should have to pay more for the same service. CMU may come across as 'punishing' its upperclassmen by charging them more.
However, this concern is misguided. The university ought to ensure tuition is affordable for all students. This does not require that all students pay the same rate. The university also must guarantee it is competitive - and a tiered tuition model better does this.
In this case, the need to remain competitive overrides the concern of 'fairness' among undergraduates.
The crux of the concern is that, under separate rates, upperclassmen run the risk of being charged an exorbitant rate so that underclassmen tuition is cheaper. But this need not happen.
The Board of Trustees, even under the new model, should aim to raise tuition as little as possible. Whatever increase is necessary should then be divided effectively. These, however, are two separate issues, and the Board still faces pressure to ensure upperclassman tuition remains affordable.
The Board needs to realize that a certain tuition rate, though acceptable for upperclassmen, may be off-putting to underclassmen, who easily could go elsewhere for two years.
Coupled with a low tuition increase overall, the tiered tuition model would provide for CMU the flexibility necessary to appeal to all potential students.
