MARQUETTE -- Northern Michigan University students can expect to pay a little more next semester as the Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase Thursday.

As of the next semester, the annual tuition cost for a full-time student will be $8,414, a rate increase of 6.99 percent.

The board says there are three reasons for the increased 15 percent cut in state funding for higher education, additional state mandated pension costs, and a potential enrollment decline of one percent.

"None of us in the last years that I've been here have ever enjoyed this particular board meeting.  We are very proud of the quality of our programs, the quality of our students, and we're just very disappointed that the state has put us in a position where we have to continue to increase the burden on our students and their families," said NMU President Les Wong.

The board pointed out that the dollar increase is the third lowest in the state, and NMU will maintain its rank of second lowest tuition in the state.