U-M-Flint to cut $4M, increase tuition 11%

Faced with a 10 percent cut in state funding, a 10 percent jump in fixed costs and a projected enrollment drop of 4 percent, U-M-Flint will cut $4 million from its operational budget, freeze salaries and increase tuition and fees by 11 percent for the 2003-04 academic year. Institutional financial aid will be matched by an 11 percent increase.

The increase in tuition and fees, approved July 17 by the Board of Regents, will add $261 a semester to the basic cost of attending U-M-Flint for a full-time student. Even with the increase, Chancellor Juan Mestas noted, U-M-Flint has one of the lowest tuition rates among Michigan public universities.

Mestas attributed the projected drop in enrollment to structural reasons: U-M-Flint is a commuter campus in an area that is losing population rapidly. While on-campus housing remains a possibility for the future, U-M-Flint is addressing short-term needs by helping students find housing in the vicinity of the campus. Prospective students can get specific information about off-campus housing at http: //www.umflint.edu.

"U-M-Flint remains one of the best values in Michigan's higher education," Mestas said. "Even after this inevitable tuition increase, we continue to be one of the best and least expensive universities in the state."

The $4 million in budget cuts will be achieved by freezing salaries and open positions, reducing services, consolidating operations, saving energy and restricting travel. Layoffs may be unavoidable, but they will be the solution of last resort, Mestas told regents.

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