It’s not all bad news as the school is also offering tuition discounts to military veterans but it’s ironic that this is happening as Detroit is in the process of declaring bankruptcy.

Kellie Woodhouse of Ann Arbor News reports.

University of Michigan approves in-state tuition for military, unauthorized immigrants

Unauthorized immigrants schooled in Michigan and all military and honorably discharged veterans will now receive in-state tuition rates at the University of Michigan.

The Board of Regents voted 6-2 to approve the change to its residency guidelines during a 3 p.m. public meeting Thursday at the North Campus Research Complex.

The vote was along party lines, with the board’s Democrats voting in favor of the measure and Republicans voting against it.

The approval means affected students pay $27,250 less in tuition. In the fall Michigan residents will pay $13,142 a year, while non-residents will pay $40,392. Under current tuition levels, the difference amounts to $109,000 over the course of four years.

Regent Andrew Richner, a Republican, said he has concerns about the legality of the policy and voted against it. Meanwhile, regent Mark Bernstein, a Democrat, praised the change, saying that as a public university U-M should embrace immigrant students.

“This university has always been a place with profoundly important public mission,” Bernstein said, adding that a century ago his family would have been considered unauthorized. “A new generation comes to us with the same exact hopes and dreams.”

Andrea Fischer Newman, a Republican from Ann Arbor, was supportive of offering in-state rates to veterans, but not unauthorized immigrants.