Wayne offers tuition break to Great Lakes students

DETROIT (AP) -- If you live outside of Michigan but in one of the other Great Lakes states or Ontario, Wayne State University says you can pay only a bit more than the undergraduate tuition for in-state residents. Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania residents are eligible for its Great Lakes Tuition Award, according to the Detroit school. The program includes a 10 percent surcharge on the in-state tuition rate, which is about $12,000. Out-of-state tuition is about $13,000 more. The tuition award allows students taking 15 credit hours per semester to save about $11,600 each year. "We look forward to giving a broader array of students the opportunity to take advantage of a very reasonable tuition base to attend this top research university," Wayne State Provost Margaret Winters said Wednesday. The nonprofit College Board recently reported that the average tuition increase this year among public universities in Michigan was 3.45 percent. Wayne had the largest increase at 8.9 percent. Nationwide, for in-state students at a four-year public college or university, published tuition and fees increased this year an average of 2.9 percent. Michigan lawmakers set a cap of 3.75 percent for universities to qualify for a portion of $21.9 million in performance funding. Wayne State University was the only university in the state to exceed the cap and sacrifice the state dollars. Published: Fri, Oct 25, 2013