The Board of Governors has received a recommendation to increase tuition and fees for resident and non-resident students for the 1998-99 fiscal year. The proposed increases, which average 2.5 percent for resident undergraduates and graduates, would result in an aggregate increase in tuition and fees of approximately 113.9 percent over the last 10 years compared to an average increase of 155.9 percent for all other Michigan public universities.

The board's budget and finance committee will consider the increases at a meeting today (June 10) and at a regular board meeting on Friday, June 12, in the Alumni Lounge on campus.

Differing rates have been proposed for in-state and out-of-state students, as well as for students in law and medicine.

The increases are intended to help meet rising costs for a variety of needs, including salary increases, technology improvements, deferred maintenance and student programs and activities.

An average increase of 2.5 percent has been proposed for in-state undergraduate and graduate students and 4 percent for non-resident undergraduate and graduate students.

For students in the Law School, rates would raise an average of 3 percent for Michigan residents and 4 percent for non-resident law students.

For students in the School of Medicine, rates would raise an average of 5.8 percent for resident students in the M.D. program, and 7.9 percent for non-resident students in the M.D. program.

In addition, the recommendation calls for a new omnibus fee to be assessed at a rate of $10 per credit hour up to a 12 credit maximum for undergraduate students, at a rate of $15 per credit hour for graduate and law students, and $360 per year for medical students. The fee is intended to provide partial support for the improvements in computer hardware and software used by students, enhancements in the athletic program, and additional funding for university student activity programs. About 70 percent of the fee revenue in the first year would go toward computing improvements.