Oakland University’s tuition increase this past summer has been a highly contested issue.  Next Thursday, President Hynd and Eastern Michigan University’s Interim President Kim Schaetzel will speak to Michigan lawmakers concerning their respective school’s tuition increase.

The tuition increases (8.48 percent for Oakland and 7.8 percent for EMU) violate the cap of a 3.2 percent increase for public universities set by Governor Snyder back in 2012.  According to the Detroit Free Press, because of the two school’s decision to surpass the cap, they will not receive money allocated by the Michigan government in performance aid. 

However, the schools saw it as a benefit, despite losing the public aid. Instead of receiving $1.2 million in funding, Oakland is expected to gain $12 million from the tuition increase.

According to legislature.mi.gov, Hynd and Schaetzel will be addressing the Higher Education Committee with the Senate.  The meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m., on Sept. 24, and will hopefully lead to clearer answers as to why the tuition increase was necessary, in spite of the financial concerns it has caused Oakland students. 

The Oakland Post will be present at the meeting next Thursday; keep your eyes out for our article concerning the details in our Sept. 30 issue.