The Michigan State University board of directors voted 5-3 on Friday to increase tuition fees by 2% and gradually introduce annual recreation fees for students starting next year. The board of directors voted unanimously to increase the number of rooms and board by 1.95%.

Friday’s approval of the increases breaks a four-year freeze on tuition fees and a two-year freeze on housing and board. The tuition hike would average around $ 290 more for new first-year resident students, bringing tuition to around $ 14,750, MSU President Samuel Stanley told the members of the board of directors.

“This modest 2% increase will help MSU continue its services to support student achievement, in particular closing the graduation gap for all students,” said the chair of the MSU board. MSU, Diane Byrum.

The proposed overall budget for the university for the 2021-2022 fiscal year is about $ 1.7 billion, an increase of about $ 96 million from last year.

The university also intends to increase financial aid by $ 3.8 million. Students from families with annual incomes below $ 100,000 would not be affected by tuition fee increases in 2021-2022 due to a combination of financial aid and federal COVID-19 grants, said Stanley.

“The board and administration are keenly aware of the financial stress students and families have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic and I appreciate the thoughtfulness of our board members over the past few months as we discussed many budgetary implications, alternatives and scenarios, ”Stanley mentioned.

The 1.95% increase in room and board would add approximately $ 205 per year to these fees.

Recreation costs for next year would start at $ 100 per year, increase to $ 180 in year two, and peak at around $ 260 in year three.

“The state of Michigan today is the one, the only major public state university in the Big Ten with no recreational fees for students to maintain and upgrade recreational facilities,” Stanley said. “The adequacy of our recreational facilities is something I have heard from our students since I came to Michigan State University. “

The tuition fee and family room and board income exemptions would benefit around 11,000 students, based on the university’s assessment of salary information on financial aid documents.

“This model was basically designed to minimize the impact on our economically disadvantaged students and we really made use of the fact that we continued to increase our financial aid even though tuition fees were stable over the past few years,” said Stanley.

The university saw a drop in revenue of about $ 430 million during the pandemic, largely related to ancillary services like residential housing and the athletic program.

But part of that drop included a gap of around $ 50 million in the general fund due to a drop in the number of international students unable to travel to the state due to the pandemic, Stanley said.

The university met the financial challenge through “significant” cost reductions, with one-time federal government dollars and by drawing on the university’s reserves.

“We have been successful and I think we are coming away with great optimism about where we are next year,” Stanley said.

The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor voted Thursday to increase tuition fees by 1.4% this fall, but overall costs are not expected to rise for many students due to need-based financial aid. The increase brings tuition and fees to $ 16,178 per year for students taking 30 credit hours per year.

The Board of Regents unanimously approved the tuition fee Thursday as part of a general fund budget of $ 2.4 billion for the 2021-2022 school year.

[email protected]