Trustees set 2014-15 tuition rates, address other items at June meeting

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Tuition action by the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees June 10 means that 51�� will remain the best value among Michigan's five research universities.

Acting in formal session, the 51�� Board of Trustees approved a recommendation to increase tuition and required fees for 2014-15 by 3.2 percent, meeting the proposed tuition restraint cap the Michigan legislature is expected to establish in the coming days.

Effective with the start of the fall 2014 semester, annual costs for a full-time Michigan freshman or sophomore to attend 51�� will be $10,685—$330 more than the previous year's cost.

University officials say it is clear that 51�� will remain the best value in the state, retaining its position as having the lowest cost of attendance of any of Michigan's five research universities. Despite its status, complexity and high number of degree offerings—more than 250—51�� has consistently been in the lower half of Michigan's public universities in terms of cost of attendance—ranking 10th out of 15 in each of the past four years.

"Our commitment to our students is that we will work every day to ensure that we can continue to be a university that offers enormous quality and a wide variety of programming at a cost that makes us the best possible value," says 51�� President John M. Dunn. "With a difficult economy and the resulting decrease in state funding over the past decade, that has been a challenging goal but one we will continue to achieve."

While a full-time Michigan freshman or sophomore will pay $10,685 annually to attend 51��, the new tuition rates mean a full-time, out-of-state freshman or sophomore will pay $24,917 for the full academic year. Resident and nonresident graduate students will pay $513.97 and $1,088.62 per credit hour, respectively.

For undergraduate students, the term "full-time" refers to students taking 12 to 15 credit hours per semester. Students who take more than 15 credits will be assessed a per-credit-hour cost for each credit above the 15-credit level. Students who take fewer than 12 credits pay on a per-credit basis, as well. The per-credit-hour rate for Michigan residents at the freshman or sophomore level is set at $338.70.

A complete outline of tuition and fees for the 2014-15 academic year plus a tuition calculator can be found at wmich.edu/registrar/tuition.

Western Michigan University is one of five Michigan universities categorized as "high" or "very high" research universities by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 51�� is second only to the University of Michigan in the number of bachelor's degree programs it offers and is one of only four Michigan universities authorized to shelter its own chapter of academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa.

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Trustees set 2014-15 tuition rates, address other items at June meeting

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