CHICAGO — Michigan's Oakland University has become the second school in the state to forgo state aid in favor of a large tuition hike. The university's trustees voted July 7 to raise the school's tuition by 8.48%. That violates a state cap of 3.2%, and means the university will lose roughly $1.2 million in annual state aid.
The tuition increase, however, will mean roughly $12 million in new annual money, university officials told local reporters.
University president George Hynd said the university's per-pupil state aid in 2015 is lower than it was in 2009 and that the school is one of the state's fastest-growing with the lowest amount of state aid.
"Tuition is underpriced, below the market," Hynd was quoted as saying at the trustees meeting.
Average tuition will rise to $11,513 a year.
Eastern Michigan University made a similar decision when it raised its tuition by 7.8%, according to the Detroit Free Press. No other public universities have exceeded the state cap.
