U-M to consider big tuition cut for military, undocumented students

In a move that advocates hope will shape policy at other universities, the University of Michigan this week will consider guidelines that would grant in-state tuition to undocumented students and to military personnel across the nation.

The proposed revisions — posted Monday as part of the Board of Regents’ Thursday meeting agenda — are the first revamp of the university’s in-state tuition policy since 2005. The changes would slash costs by two-thirds for undocumented students and could attract more students who have served the country but aren’t native to Michigan.

Both groups have been lobbying the university to expand its policy for months.

“We hope that other universities in the state follow the University of Michigan’s lead on this … (and) will find the courage to do what is right,” said Daniel Alejandro Morales, spokesman for U-M’s Coalition for Tuition Equality.

Brian Stone, a U-M Dearborn student who lobbied for changes to the university’s tuition policy for student veterans, hailed the proposal. “This would be a significant victory for veterans, students and the state of Michigan,” said Stone, spokesman for the U-M Dearborn Student Veterans Association.

The guidelines would create a path for undocumented students to pay in-state tuition if they attended middle school in Michigan for two years and then a high school in the state for three years. Students would have to begin at U-M within 28 months of graduation.

The guidelines would also broaden the university’s policy for active duty military and veterans by offering in-state tuition regardless of a student’s residence. Currently, only Michigan veterans qualify for in-state tuition.

“We believe these changes create a clearer path to in-state tuition for several groups of future students, including military veterans and undocumented students who have made Michigan their home,” Martha Pollack, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, said in a statement.

U-M’s annual tuition is about $13,000 for students who live in-state, compared with $39,000 for those who live outside the state.

In Michigan, a few universities offer in-state tuition to undocumented students, including Western Michigan, Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State.

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