Caul favors per-student funding

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State Rep. Sandy Caul soon will present a proposal in Lansing that may balance
per-student state appropriations to all universities.

Caul, R-Mount Pleasant, said the proposal would recognize the various
costs of running a university and increasing enrollment as factors in state
aid.

“This certainly has been something that we have been looking at the last
four years. It is certainly a divisive issue, and it is still open for discussion.
I have received various proposals that we are discussing,” said Caul, chairwoman
of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee. “I have always firmly
supported that there be some type of system that would recognize the various
costs of the universities and their growth and enrollment.”  

There now are four tiers in which universities are placed, depending on
operational and instructional costs. The first tier receives $9,100 per student;
the fourth tier is $4,600 per student. CMU is on the third tier.  

Central now is 12th out of 15 schools in per student appropriation. The
university received $4,294 per student before budget cuts, which is below
the fourth tier. Wayne State University was bringing in $10,678 before the
cuts, more than $1,500 above the highest tier.

CMU now receives an adjusted per-student appropriation, after the first
two cuts of $4,122. If the Legislature approves Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s
budget proposal for next fiscal year, CMU’s per student funding would drop
to $3,864 next year.

Mike Boulus, executive director of the President’s Council that represents
Michigan’s 15 public universities, said he recognizes the system has inequities,
but now is not the time to fix them.

“You need to ask yourself if this is the environment to give an across
the board cut. Is this the best policy in this situation?” he said. “The
more appropriate issue is how to bring up the floor. My philosophy is, you
don’t bring the bottom up by bringing down the top. You accelerate the bottom,
and slow down the top. This is about negative appropriation.”

Boulus said the situation potentially could be divisive if schools like
CMU, which are below the tier, gain at the expense of other schools.

“You don’t bring the floor up during a negative appropriation, you do
it when there are dollars. If certain universities are getting twice as much
money, then there will be people getting twice as less,” Boulus said. “Maybe
what you do with new money when the economy recovers is take the first $75
million and dedicate it to the lower funded universities. You breach the
gap when the economy picks up.”

In order for the Legislature to approve the proprosal, it has to go through
several committees, Caul said.

“We are trying to look at a proposal this week, and we want to get something
on the table soon,” she said. “We are trying to get it talked about to benefit
the schools and students. A majority of the subcommittee, the appropriations
committee and the floor members must approve it to get it through.”

Public Relations and Marketing Executive Director of News Services Mike
Silverthorn said the most ideal situation for CMU would be a funding policy
where specific dollar amounts follow students.

“It has been a very political process over the years,” he said. “I would
like to see some kind of plan that would take in to account the quality of
the institution, past funding inequalities and enrollment growth.”

Silverthorn said he likes the idea of a tier system, and a fully functional
system would be a step in the right direction, if it was funded with floors.

“In reality, that is not how we’ve been funded,” Silverthorn said. “It
hasn’t happened yet.”

There are other issues the governor’s plan will bring up, Caul said.

“I can say that the committee has voiced support for restoring the Merit
Scholarship award dollars, so that dollars promised to students will be awarded,”
she said.

Boulus said state universities should take their losses — for now.

“CMU is looking at severe cuts, as is every university,” he said. “We
all have to share the pain.”