The Office of the Vice President for Communications (OVPC) has created an educational video, “Tuitionomics: The Movie,” to improve understanding of tuition and to address some of the misconceptions of how tuition dollars are spent.
“The purpose of the video is to answer some of the most common questions that current and prospective students, their parents, and others ask about tuition,” Vice President for Communications David Lampe says. “In addition to explaining what tuition does — and does not — pay for, it links to further resources about financial aid and the cost of a U-M education.”
Input from student focus groups, such as the Division of Student Affairs Student Advisory Group and the Dean of Students Student Advisory Group, helped determine the best method to deliver the important message and contributed to the development of the video content.
The video corrects many fallacies, beginning with the belief that tuition dollars pay for campus construction and athletics, and also reveals what tuition dollars do fund, including faculty salaries and student programs. Facts and data help explain how tuition rates are set, while a resources page directs viewers to sources for financial aid.
To produce the video, OVPC tapped U-M’s student talent pool by recruiting student actors Shannon Eagen and Corey Dorris from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Also appearing in the video are Brian Coppola, professor of chemistry; Andrew Burchfield, environmental health and safety manager; Dr. Carmen Green, professor of anesthesiology and health management and policy; men’s basketball coach John Beilein; and President Mary Sue Coleman.
For more information on tuition or to view the video, go to www.vpcomm.umich.edu/pa/key/budget.
