Michigan State BOT to maintain privilege, withold 6000 Nassar documents – Wendy Guzman

The Michigan State University Board of Trustees will not be releasing some 6,000 documents regarding the investigation of the university’s handling of Larry Nassar’s decades of sexual abuse, according to an email from Board Chair Dianne Byrum.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel made a request for a response from the board by March 26. The board has decided to uphold attorney-client privileges.

Without these documents, the Attorney General’s will close their investigation and it will remain inconclusive. The attorney general’s office explored every legal avenue to obtain the documents from MSU’s board but were not able to access the documents without permission of the board.

More pressure on universities for free tuition programs, MSU falls behind some other public universities – Jasmine Hall

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced free tuition provided to pandemic frontline workers in January and then extended the program into February for all community college students ages 25 and up in the state of Michigan.

This has put pressure on universities like Ferris State University (FSU), Central Michigan University (CMU) and Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) to provide free tuition programs to qualifying students in recent weeks. However, unlike these other universities, Michigan State University has yet to make progress in providing more free-tuition programs.

Other universities like the University of Michigan (UofM) have been implementing free tuition for certain students for years. The University of Michigan has the Go Blue Guarantee in which students whose families make an income of less than $65,000 a year are provided free tuition. CMU and SVSU implemented similar programs that will go into effect next year, but for families that make less than $50,000 a year.

MSU does not have a similar full-tuition coverage programs for students like these universities, although their general financial aid has increased by 3,000% since the 1970s. Instead, the administration’s two largest programs are with Detroit Promise and Spartan Advantage, according to MSU Deputy Spokesperson Dan Olsen.

There are nearly 50,000 undergraduate students that attend MSU with full tuition coverage. That’s only 4.6% of the undergraduate population.

The price of tuition across the nation has steadily increased over the past 40 years. Even 20 years ago, a student’s tuition on average cost $3,500 per year in the United States, according to reports from national universities.