The Wayne State University Board of Governors approved a 2001 General Fund Budget of $381.1 million at its regular meeting July 20. The budget includes an anticipated increase in the state appropriations of five percent and an increase in tuition and fees.

The budget is based in part on an expected increase in state appropriations of $11.3 million -- to a total appropriation of $237,322,500 -- which is the amount agreed upon by a House-Senate conference committee prior to the Legislature's summer break. The state has provided a "letter of intent" about the appropriation, and final action is expected when the Legislature returns to Lansing in the fall.

Total expenditures for 2001 will increase $19.3 million over the current year and most of that -- $13.9 million -- reflects increases in employee compensation and fringe benefits. Other increases will finance faculty recruitment, improvement in student information and other administrative systems, increased costs for the libraries and costs to start up a Capital Campaign. In addition, some funds will be earmarked to raise the salaries of technology professionals to a more competitive level.

Chief of Staff Meredith Gibbs presented the tuition increase proposal to the board's Budget and Finance Committee at its July 19 meeting.

"We are recommending increases for fiscal year 2000-2001 of 4 percent for undergraduate students, 8 percent for graduate students, 9.75 percent for law and medicine and an increase in omnibus and registration fees of 4 percent," Gibbs said.

The economic impact of the tuition increase on undergraduate students will be about $5 per credit hour. For the academic year, that amounts to an increase of about $165.50 for full-time Michigan resident undergraduates and $102.80 for part-time Michigan undergraduate students taking nine credit hours per semester (an average increase of 4 percent).

"I think you will see that with these increases Wayne State remains very affordable compared to other Michigan public universities," Gibbs told members of the board.

Per credit hour rates for freshmen and sophomores will rise from $114.30 to $118.90. For juniors, seniors and post-bachelor's, tuition will increase from $134.90 to $140.30 per credit hour.

While not all of the state's 15 public universities have acted on tuition and fees, Wayne State students will continue to pay rates that are well below the state's other research universities as well as below some of the regional universities.

With regard to undergraduate rates, Gibbs pointed out that WSU tuition is just above the University of Michigan-Flint and just below the rates at Western Michigan University.

In the current academic year, WSU full-time lower division students paid $3,818 in tuition and fees, which ranked the university tenth among the 15 public universities. That rate compared to $6,271 at the University of Michigan, $5,044 at Michigan State University and $3,989 at Oakland University.

Wayne State's graduate and professional tuition and fees are traditionally well below rates at many of its peer institutions. In the current fiscal year 2000, for example, WSU graduate school rates were $4,719 -- less than half the rate at the U of M ($10,501), and below Michigan State, the U of M-Dearborn, Oakland University and Ferris State University ($5,520).

Gibbs pointed out that for fiscal year 2000, WSU's Law School charged less than half the rates at other Michigan law schools, and she expects that comparison will remain about the same in the 2001 academic year. Nationally, WSU's Law School ranked 17th of the 39 law schools that are part of Carnegie I public research institutions.