Higher Ed
During her most recent State of the State address, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she wants to focus on upper-education.
She said public universities will be rewarded as they "help students graduate" - a broad framework that has neither a cash amount nor a specific criterion.
Granholm's 2008-09 budget model, to be announced next week, will show whether this is just fluff.
The proposal requires fiscal force. If universities are to improve services to students, they require additional funds to finance those services. Granholm cannot expect universities to expand retention programs when current programs barely can stay afloat.
The first move has to come from Granholm and state legislators. CMU cannot afford another $1.3 million appropriation cut, nor should it have to endure any additional deferments.
Granholm told the Detroit Free Press on Thursday that additional funding would be guided by a formula weighing research, graduation rates and the number of students receiving financial aid.
The problem with instating an appropriation formula is one of quantifying education, a vice that has afflicted the federal No Child Left Behind program.
While universities may influence graduation rates, ultimately the decision falls on the individual - the last thing the state needs is a class of inept graduates shoved through a dumbed-down system.
When weighing this formula, state officials should consider more qualitative measures. Look at the quality of graduates rather than only the numbers, and the quality of research instead of only its amount.
These are less simple to weigh in some formula, but they are relevant factors that cannot be overlooked.
Higher education remains essential to diversifying Michigan's economy and escaping economic recession.
To fill their role, universities first require additional funding, with educational "bonuses" distributed according to something more comprehensive than Granholm's formula.
