<p>If I tried to express my thoughts on those "leading" our state government, I would probably throw a rod (sorry ... I have automotive blood in my Michigan born/bred/educated veins). Suffice it to say things are a mess in these parts.</p>
<p>The state Constitution requires the budget to be balanced. The legislature has known since February that they must balance the budget. Democrats & Republicans are too busy fighting to actually come up with anything concrete. As a result, essential state services are slated to be shut down effective Monday. Let's see ... we need to 1) trim programs to balance the budget, 2) raise taxes to balance the budget, or 3) combine program trimming and tax levies to balance the budget. Elected "leaders" appear to be too afraid of the political fallout of taking a stance to actually do something. AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!</p>
<p>As far as public higher education in MI is concerned, there is still room for fat trimming. I would LOVE to have a job in higher ed here. The benefits are amazing ... better than my masters-degreed automotive engineer husband has from his Big 3 company. The pay is better than I could earn in a private company for a similar job (administrative, not teaching). People in this state have been experiencing declining incomes and benefits for several years. As much as I value education, public institutions cannot expect their employees to be shielded from the economic realities of our state. As long as there is still room to trim fat at the governmental level ... which is not limited to higher education ... the frustrated folks in our state are not exactly amenable to higher taxes. Yet the budget must be balanced. Tough choices need to be made.</p>
<p>If there ever was a place that symbolizes the decline of the middle class, by the way, this is it. I'll get off my soapbox now. Can you tell I'm fed up?</p>
<p>Add Virginia to the list.</p>
<p>The governor is asking for 7% a cut back at places like Wm&Mary, UVA & VaTech.</p>
<p>Are there any states not having budget problems? Is there a list somewhere that says how well the states are doing financially? S won't be applying to Michigan now since OOS and needs merit. It was borderline anyhow before this.</p>
<p>Yes there are states not having problems</p>
<p>Wyoming is running a multi Billion dollar surplus and has rebuilt almost every HS building in the state. They have also made major investments in the University.</p>
<p>Oregon has also just announced a large budget increase to the Universities in that State.</p>
<p>Many of the Oil and Coal states in the West are rolling in the $$. I just got a refund of $400 from the state on my Montana property taxes due to the state surplus.</p>
<p>This doesn't impact the University of Michigan as much as other schools. Only 11% of it's total revenue comes from the state.</p>
<p>I'm in Oregon, and any increase to higher ed or any other level of education here has to be viewed in perspective of past budgets. We have cut education budgets to the bone and further since Measure 47 passed in 1996. Salaries for professors cannot compete with other similar level schools and so we have lost many excellent faculty members. And you can be sure that along with an increase in the budget to universities comes an increase in tuition to the students. I think that if it weren't for the high livability of Eugene and Corvallis, retention of faculty would be even lower.</p>
<p>p.s. We in Oregon also get a State Tax "kicker" back when revenues surpass a certain amount. However, this in no way reflects the health of our schools. Voters and politicians would rather get their few hundred dollars back than have the state keep it and support an education system that has dropped from one of the highest to one of the lowest dollars spent per student in the country.</p>
<p>With only 11% state funding, Univ. of Michigan should go private and reduce the class size. It would be a better school and could cut 11% by reducing class size. I guess that would have to work out some arrangement with the state to pay for the property, assuming the state owns the property... and probably the buildings. I bet UM alum would step up to help.</p>
<p>Going private would not solve the problems for most Michigan residents. Nor would it make the school instantly financially solvent- would the 60+% of residents still attend if they had to pay the full costs? If not, how far down the list would they have to go to fill the school? Some of the best Michigan residents may choose OOS schools instead of the instate bargain. Would this cause a "brain drain" for the state if more of the best left, and didn't return? Many ramifications of going private. No easy solutions- it may be a question of whether or not the voters in Michigan value the current level enough to pay for it with tax dollars. Given the status of the school with OOSers, I wonder how high they could raise OOS tuition and get the numbers to help offset the deficits... Good luck, Michigan. Oh, and how would the change in status affect the football team and alumni pride??? I'd bet many would feel negatively.</p>
<p>re: UMichigan going private. Are there any other examples of a flagship state university going private in the last 50 years or so?</p>
<p>wis75, the state of Michigan is not willing to pay for the cost of educating UM students. The OOS rates are already the same as private college rates. I don't see how the change in status would affect alumni pride... it's still the University of Michigan. Even though a minority of students are OOSers, they are a signficant minority. If they raise tuition higher for OOSers, they will experience an even greater brain drain. It's no secret that the OOSers have, on average, better qualifications than in-staters... they also represent more than 40% of the top half of the class.</p>
<p>Here's a NYT article regarding the consideration of going private by an Oregon state school.</p>
<p>Oregon Institute of Technology is a far cry from U Michigan, in so many ways!</p>
<p>"also represent more than 40% of the top half of the class."</p>
<p>Actually, OOS represent about 40% of the total class - not top half of the class.</p>
<p>P.S. The Oregon school remains public today, but it looks like Oregon steppend up its financial support... maybe no connection.</p>
<p>SBDad, I meant they represent more than 40% of the students with GPAs in the top half of the class.</p>
<p>entomom, I agree that it the Oregaon situation is far different. I actually don't believe it will ever happen. However, UM has one of the largest endowments in the country (top 10), one of the lowest state support percentages, and one of the highest OOS representation.</p>
<p>Does anyone from Michigan know if this crisis is resolved? I tried googling for info, but much of the information I found was old news. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Michigan's legislature is currently approaching the second "last" deadline. News reports from the Capitol at the end of last week were quite telling: our legislators were NOT busy working to resolve our budget crisis. So far, their great ideas include taxing some services & not others. My favorite example of the lunacy of their plan is that ski lift tickets will be taxed 6%, but golf greens fees will not be taxed. Gee, I wonder what activity our state reps prefer. Our electorate more or less invited this, though, when we voted for term limits. As a result, we don't have anyone in office who has a clue. Given the dire straits of Michigan's economy, this is definitely not a good thing.</p>
<p>As far as education funding goes, though, UM seems to have nothing to fear. In fact, the legislature has proposed a higher funding level for Michigan's 3 research universities next year (UM, MSU, Wayne State U). </p>
<p>If my husband's job were not here (31 years with a Big 3 automaker ... old monikers die hard around here), we would be gone. D is out of state for college & will not return after graduation. S plans the same.</p>
<p>Just as an aside ... yes, in state students definitely have, on average, lower stats than OOS. It is a publicly supported institution & the top students at MI high schools can realistically expect a decent shot at admission (even with a 26 or 27 ACT). It certainly hasn't seemed to harm the overall status of the school so far, so I don't imagine there is any need to change.</p>
<p>Thanks Kelsmom. Grand Valley is in my daughter's top two, so I have been trying to keep an eye on the situation. Why do we elect these people?</p>