The Tuition and Fees report provides a financial costs breakdown against students for educational purposes in each of Michigan’s 28 community colleges.

The data are important because they help prospective students understand the average cost of pursuing postsecondary education in a community college depending on the students’ residence. Specialized fees are excluded such as online course fees because such fees will not apply to the majority of students.

Each community college is required to submit Tuition and Fees to CEPI by August 31 of each year and the report is available soon after.

Exploring the Tuition and Fees report can answer questions like:

How much does tuition cost to attend a community college?

Select a school year and a community college. Review the In District, Out of District and Out of State annual tuition rate.

What mandatory fees must I pay at a community college?

Select a school year and a community college. Review the Mandatory Fees Per Hour and/or Semester.

The cost of community college is comprised of many expenses like books and supplies, transportation, room and board, other miscellaneous expenses, and most notably, Tuition and Fees.

The tuition data shows charges to students by credit, contact, billable, or other hour, and mandatory fees shows charges for items or services not covered by tuition that are required of the majority of students.

Fees differ among community colleges so if there is a fee not listed, a community college has never had it. If a fee is zeros, a community college formerly charged the fee but doesn’t currently and is typically accompanied by a Board of Approval Date.

For tuition and fee data prior to the 2017-18 school year on community colleges, visit the Michigan Community College Network’s web page. For tuition and fee information on public universities, visit the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency Higher Education web page.

Report Labels

School Year: July 1 – June 30.

Tuition: A sum of money charged for teaching or instruction by a school, college, or university.

Tuition Charge: The basis upon which tuition is calculated, either by credit, contact, billable, and other.

Annual Tuition Rate: Calculation to represent the average cost of community college tuition within a year (tuition multiplied by 30 credit/contact hours).

Mandatory Fees: Additional expenses charged to students for items or services not covered by tuition and required of such a large proportion of all students that the student who does not pay the charge is an exception.

Fees Per Hour: Some fees may be charged by each credit hour a student takes on.

Fees Per Semester: Some fees may be charged once a semester that a student is enrolled.

Annual Hourly/Semester Fees Total: Calculation to represent the average cost of community college hourly and/or semester fees within a year (sum of fees multiplied by 30 credit/contact hours).

Credit Hour: A course credit hour shall be determined by the institution’s predominant calendar system. A semester credit hour shall not be less than 800 instructional minutes. All other units should be measured proportionately.

Contact Hour: One course contact hour is a total of 50 minutes of student instruction in which the student is scheduled to come into contact with an instructor or with tutorial or laboratory equipment.

In District: Term used for billing tuition rates. The location where the student resides should be used to determine whether their tuition rate should be billed as “in-district,” “out-of-district” or “out-of-state.” A student who resides within the locality/district of the institution where they attend school is considered “in-district.”

Out of District: Term used for billing tuition rates. The location where the student resides should be used to determine whether their tuition rate should be billed as “in-district,” “out-of-district” or “out-of-state.” A student who resides outside of the locality/district of the institution where they attend school is considered “out-of-district.”

Out of State: Term used for billing tuition rates. The location where the student resides should be used to determine whether their tuition rate should be billed as “in-district,” “out-of-district” or “out-of-state.” A student who resides outside of the state of the institution where they attend school is considered “out-of-state.”

Board Approval Date: The date the board finalized/approved tuition and fee rates for the upcoming academic year. If the tuition and fees rates do not change throughout the years, this date will be the most recent date approved by the board.

Comments: Community colleges can further describe the Tuition, Fees By Hour and Fees by Semester if necessary.

Data Collection