Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a proposal for a 6.89% rate hike for food and housing during its meeting Friday morning.
The increase was recommended by the department of Student Life and Engagement, which said it was a direct result of rising inflation and planned hall renovations.
The change in price will not affect current students— incoming students for the 2024-2025 academic year will have to pay $810 more annually, bringing the total to $12,564 for housing and MSU’s silver dining plan, the lowest tier of dining plan.
Students are forced to subscribe to the silver dining plan if they live on campus. Since fall 2021, MSU students were required to live on campus for their first two years.
The resolution includes rate hikes of 5% for 1855 place and University Village apartments.
The resolution says the university is “sensitive to the need to keep housing and dining rates affordable for students, especially as pressures of individual contribution to the cost of higher education continue to increase.” The resolution also notes that six of the last eight years have experienced a rate increase of 3%, making this 7% rate hike the second in the row after a similar resolution passed last year, which applied to both first and second year students.
Some students, however, are skeptical of the board’s decision. Sophia Nedoff, a dietetics Sophomore, called her reaction to the resolution as one of “pure horror.” Though the measure does not affect students in her year, the 7% hike last year applied to her as a Freshman.
In an interview with WKAR at the MSU Union, where a large renovation is planned, Nedoff said the room and board rate hike would affect access to higher education for those eyeing MSU as a prospective college. “It’s making it harder for the next generation with this rate increase— things are already so expensive as it is,” Nedoff said.
Nedoff said she had to save extensively to contribute to the fees she accrued at MSU. At times, even the costs of expensive software and textbooks for her classes were difficult to afford.
“As I progress in school and my classes get harder, I spend more,” Nedoff told WKAR, “ I spent close to $500 on textbooks this year… these little things add up.”
Nedoff said the rate increase makes little sense to students because of the large turnout for sporting events at MSU which sees millions in revenue through licensing deals, ticket sales, and merchandising.
“They’re making such a profit off of football. That money should be going to students,” Nedoff said.
MSU Junior Ari Kumar, who has advocated extensively for fair wages for on-campus jobs on his social media accounts, said the decision to increase rates would contribute to students’ “misery,” since they would be “working longer hours, have less free time to themselves… in order for the board to get a return on investment.”
Kumar said the rate hikes are a symptom of higher education moving away from the notion of students coming to campus for self discovery. Kumar said it is in the college’s best interest to hike prices so that it will keep students busy with work.
“I think MSU is interested in getting people out into the job market as quickly as possible and they don’t want to spend money on things that will slow that process down, they’d rather spend money on making the campus look prettier and more attractive than making it a better place to learn.”