University of Michigan looks to out-of-state students to subsidize low in-state tuition increase

Kellie Woodhouse:

University of Michigan has adopted its lowest in-state tuition increase in three decades — and it’s doing so in part by putting an additional cost burden on out-of-state students.
During a public meeting Thursday afternoon, the school’s eight-member governing board in a 6-2 vote approved a 1.1 percent increase for underclassmen residents, bringing the in-state rate to $13,142, and a 3.2 percent increase for out-of-staters, bringing the non-resident rate to $40,392 for freshmen and sophomores.
“The people of Michigan have made an investment in the university over a long period of time and I think that creates an equity that makes it fairer to do what we can to make in-state tuition go up at a slower rate than out-of-state,” U-M regent Larry Dietch said in an interview. “And the data would indicate, at least at this point, that there is elasticity in terms of the demand from out-of-state and the ability of people to pay.”