Focus EMU Online has a cover story on this year’s tuition increase, “Regents approve $263 million budget, 7.7 percent tuition.” Frankly, it doesn’t say much; here’s the lead paragraph:
The Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents approved a University budget of $262.7 million with a 7.7 percent increase in tuition and fees for fiscal year 2008-09. Of that increase, 6.8 percent is designated for operations and 0.9 percent to reinvest in building improvements. The Regents also approved housing and dining rate increases averaging 5.15 percent for 2008-2009, and reinvested in students with $23.6 million in student financial aid, an increase of 10.3 percent compared with the previous fiscal year.
Nowhere in this article does it say what percentage of the 6.8 percent in “operations” goes toward salary increases, which was the the only thing that was mentioned before as an example of an operation. Given that faculty and lecturer numbers are down for the 2008-09 school year and that the faculty pay increase is 3.6 percent, I think it’s fair to say that most of that 6.8 percent of operations is going to other things.
But what?
I appreciate that EMU’s PR folks are trying to put a positive spin on all this, which is why that first paragraph ends with the news of more financial aid being available. But honestly, how hard would it be to post a spreadsheet or something that gives a basic break-down of these tuition increases? You know, heating gas and fuel is up by “x” percent, electric bills up by that much, salaries for faculty by this much, salaries for administrators up by that much, etc.
