Gov. John Engler signed a $1.95 billion Higher Education budget for fiscal year 2002 on Friday.
The budget increases funding for Michigan’s public universities by $26.8 million or 1.5 percent during the current year. MSU will receive more than $325 million in state funding, a $4.8 million increase from 2001.
“This budget clearly demonstrates the high priority we continue to give to Michigan’s universities despite the tight economy,” Engler said in a prepared statement.
State universities will share an additional $27.5 million for fiscal year 2002 if the tuition tax credit is repealed. The state Senate voted to repeal the tax and the state House is expected to take up the issue this week.
“This funding is contingent upon repeal of the tax credit,” Engler said. “Our universities have pledged to reduce recently announced tuition and fee increases if they receive these additional funds resulting from the tax credit repeal.”
MSU President M. Peter McPherson has said he supports a repeal of the tuition tax credit, which will result in a refund for MSU undergraduate students.
McPherson recently sent out a mass e-mail to students and letters to parents urging them to contact their legislators and request they vote to repeal the tax credit.
“I am looking for everyone working together, including students, to make sure the tuition tax credit is repealed so we can lower tuition,” he said.
This year MSU students saw an 8.9 percent increase when the Board of Trustees temporarily suspended the tuition guarantee. McPherson said MSU spearheaded the idea of giving tax credit dollars directly back to students, as Engler recommends.
“We included it when we adopted the tuition increase,” he said. “We were pleased to be the first one that actually acted upon it and support has grown over the summer and fall from other institutions.”
McPherson said it was important to settle funding issues so the state’s universities can move forward with planned budgets.
“This was a very hard year for the appropriations process due to the economy,” he said, “I am glad it is signed into law and now we actually can have the money.”
