On Thursday, Saginaw Valley State University’s board of control approved a $97.1 million general fund budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The spending plan includes a tuition increase of 6.3 percent for the upcoming academic year.

A Michigan undergraduate student taking 30 credits will pay $6,900 in tuition and mandatory fees for the 2009-10 academic year, up $408 from 2008-09.

“We have a long history of controlling costs and maintaining the lowest possible tuition for students and their families; the facts are clear in this regard,” said SVSU president Eric Gilbertson. “We would urge everyone not to look at any single year but rather to focus on what our base tuition is and has been."

The budget includes an 8.5 percent increase in university-funded scholarships and financial aid to $8.9 million.

“We are looking at the protection of the university for not just current students, but those in the future – that’s our stewardship obligation,” Gilbertson added.

The budget model was based on a 3.2 percent reduction in SVSU’s state appropriation.

If the federal stimulus were to substantially restore those funds, Gilbertson said students can expect a rebate.

“If we receive those federal stimulus dollars, we will use them in the form of a tuition rebate to students and their families,” he said.

Even with the tuition rate hike, SVSU is still considered one of the best bang-for-the-buck universities in the state of Michigan.