Lofty tuition hikes at state universities threaten to price Michigan \'s popular prepaid tuition savings program out of reach for many parents. The Michigan Education Trust board has decided to boost the contract cost for a newborn by at least 20 percent in the wake of double-digit tuition increases announced in recent weeks by colleges across the state. It\'s the largest one-year increase since Michigan became the first state to offer a tuition savings plan in 1988. The increase will put the cost of a MET contract at $8,400 per year of prepaid tuition and mandatory fees for an infant beneficiary. The cost for the enrollment period that ended June 15 was $7,028. The new yearlong enrollment period opens Sept. 1, and those who choose to make payments later in the year will see even higher increases. Granholm notes that fewer than 22 percent of Michigan adults have bachelor\'s or advanced degrees, which is 2 percent below the national average. The cost of college this fall will shoot up an average 11 percent at the state\'s 15 public universities, paced by Central Michigan University \'s 19 percent increase for incoming freshmen and an 18.5 percent hike at Wayne State University .