Central Michigan Life

Central Michigan University’s Board of Trustees approved the increased tuition rates for the 2026-27 academic year at its meeting on Thursday, June 25.

A lower-level undergraduate tuition rate is now $519 per credit hour (a $20 increase). An upper-level undergraduate tuition rate is now $575 per credit hour (a $23 increase).

The graduate tuition rate increased by $33. It’s $862 per credit hour for master’s students, and $962 per credit hour for doctoral students.

President Neil MacKinnon said CMU continues to offer one of the state's lowest undergraduate tuition rates and a competitive graduate tuition rate. According to the Michigan Association of State Universities report, CMU is placed 13th out of 15 universities for undergraduate tuition.

“As we continue to offer students the highest quality academic and student support programs, we've also seen significant increases in the cost of our operations,” MacKinnon said. “External pressures, such as rising insurance costs and uncertainty about public funding, have made it necessary to raise tuition rates for the 2026-27 academic year.

“We do not make these decisions lightly. We know that the cost of higher education is a major concern nationwide, and that for many families, the sticker price of college can appear daunting; however, the true cost of attendance is often much lower.”

The Board also approved the 2026-27 operating budget.

The expenditures decreased by $2 million from last year, with a projected total of about $460 million.

MacKinnon said CMU wants to continue providing fair compensation to its faculty and staff. He also noted that he and some other senior officers removed their scheduled salary increases this year.

“We understand that budget reductions pose challenges for our faculty and staff, and as leaders of this organization, we want to demonstrate our commitment to alleviating some of the pressure,” he said.

For more details on these and other decisions, please see the full story here:
https://www.cm-life.com/article/2026/06/d_bottuitionbudget_news_062526

✍️ Staff Reports 📸Cristin Coppess

The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees will vote on naming and approving the entire project cost of CMU’s medical education building in Saginaw at its formal meeting Thursday.

The first resolution will approve the name to be MyMichigan Health CMU Medical Education Building to recognize MyMichigan’s donation of $40 million to the project.

Another resolution that the Board will vote on Thursday is the construction of the CMU’s Welcome Center.

During the committee meetings Wednesday, Trustee Jeff Stoutenburg said the university’s enrollment for the fall is down.

✍️ Staff Reports 📸Cristin Coppess

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