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LANSING - As Michigan faces inflation and a state general funding gap for the 2027 fiscal year, some experts are expressing concerns about affordability at public universities.
Students and families may be hurt financially as they navigate the challenge of affording college, while state leaders look for more ways to provide additional support.
Universities are raising tuition to help fill their own financial needs, and that may make affording higher education more difficult for low-income families, according to Dan Hurley, the CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities.
Tuition and state appropriations are major sources of funding for the state's 15 public universities.
In addition to legislative appropriations, which change year-by-year, "the universities have a second revenue stream - tuition," Hurley said.
If tuition continues to rise at public universities, that means a heavier financial burden on many more families, he said, even with a number of state and institutional programs to increase access to them.
Michigan public universities have increased tuition for the 2026-27 school year, including Oakland University raising tuition by 3.9%, Central Michigan University by 4% and the University of Michigan by 3%, according to their websites.
Universities typically have their own ways to help navigate students through financial changes.
Oakland University helps by providing more forms of financial assistance, "as well as programs such as the Golden Guarantee, which provides eligible Michigan students with a pathway to attend Oakland tuition-free," said Nicole Boelk, its director of financial aid.
And U-M offers the Go Blue Guarantee which covers tuition and mandatory university fees, excluding housing and meal costs for students who are eligible for in-state tuition and apply for financial aid.
Despite tuition hikes, higher education has slowly improved in affordability in Michigan over the last 15 years when measured by the proportion of family income it costs the students, Michigan Association of State Universities research shows.
"The overall average net price of attending a public university is decreasing by itself, going from $18,733 in 2009 to $14,825 in 2024," said Mia Murphy, the association's chief policy officer.
Although tuition is generally less expensive than it was years ago compared to the proportion of income, it is still unaffordable for many people to pay the difference out of pocket.
Student loans are typically a practical option after financial aid if students still owe money, according to the Federal Student Aid website.
According to the Education Data Initiative, the average public university student in the U.S. takes out about $31,960 in student loans to attain a bachelor's degree.
President Donald Trump's 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act made it harder for some students to receive federal financial aid and limits the amount of loans they can take out each year.
Now, for example, Parent Plus loans are capped at $20,000 per year, when before there was no annual ceiling.
According to a posting by the U.S. Department of Education in the Federal Register, the Parent Plus loan cap is to help prevent parents from taking on more debt than they can realistically repay, but critics of the cap say it will prevent some students from pursuing post-secondary education.
According to Michigan Association of State Universities enrollment reports for all 15 public universities, there has been slight drops collectively in new enrollments in recent years, with a wide range among the individual schools.
The 2024 first-time freshman enrollment was 40,753, dropping 471 from the previous year. In 2025 it dropped by 34 students.