LANSING – Michigan is already the 10th -lowest state in terms of support for higher education, and it would fall to fifth or lower if the cuts proposed by Governor Rick Snyder are approved, the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan said on releasing a national report on university funding.
The State Higher Education Finance report from the State Higher Education Executive Officers showed that Michigan, in 2010 dollars, appropriated $4,822 per full time student in fiscal year 2009-10, down from $5,978 in fiscal year 2004-05. That represented a 19.3 percent cut over the five years.
The only state to cut more was New Mexico, which cut 20 percent.
But the national average was $6,451 per student in fiscal year 2009-10, a 7.2 percent cut from fiscal year 2004-05.
Michigan was third from the bottom in its increase in higher education funding from 2005 to 2010, cutting appropriations from state funds 19.3 percent. Nationally, funding fell 3.2 percent.
The 15 percent cuts proposed for fiscal year 2010-11, however, would put the state even further behind others, said Mike Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council.
“We already have seen major reductions in some areas of university activities, helping to allow for additional investing in programs policymakers have expressed interest in, such as increasing the number of graduates and implementation of scholarship programs for low-income students to make up for elimination of state scholarships,” Boulus said. “But the cuts at the level being proposed for the 2011-12 budget – with no indication that higher education will be a higher priority in years ahead – will likely result in substantial program eliminations and larger class sizes while making it more difficult to provide financial aid to ensure access for all students.”
Michigan was also above average in the proportion of tuition in its higher education funding mix. The report showed that nationally, 54 percent of university funding came from state support and 36 percent from tuition in fiscal year 2009-10. That was a drop in state support from a 58/34 split the prior fiscal year.
For Michigan, about 64 percent of higher education funding came from tuition in fiscal year 2009-10.
But the report noted Michigan was one of 14 states with total university revenue above the national average despite lower-than-average state support.
Michigan saw greater than average increase in enrollment, about 16 percent, from 2005 to 2010. Nationally, enrollment increased 14.9 percent.
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