With lawmakers facing what many expect to be a major money crunch, it seems the MSU Board of Trustees is dreaming to request an extra $1,000 per student in the state’s next budget cycle.
But it is good to see Spartan leaders lobbying with gusto as Michigan is set to see many leadership changes because of term limits.
Spartans have been at the short end of an appropriations gap among Michigan’s three research universities - Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and MSU - for too long.
These funding gaps need to be evened out for the state’s premier land-grant institution to keep tuition low while still being able to offer students a quality education.
For the 2002-03 fiscal year, the state gave $11,119 per student to Wayne State, $9,189 per student to U-M and $8,137 per student to MSU - the same levels it doled out for 2001-02.
While MSU has been receiving lower appropriations the tuition has only grown 4.6 percent each year for the past nine years, which is 2 percent lower per year than the Big Ten average.
Since MSU President M. Peter McPherson instituted the Tuition Guarantee in 1994, the university has maintained tuition increases of at or below the projected rate of inflation - that is until the last two budget cycles.
We hope new legislators see it proper to reward the university that has set a national example for tuition restraint even as the state faces a $1-1.5 billion deficit.
The university is seeking about $9,100 in state funds per student for next year.
Despite budgetary shortfalls, new legislators should work to narrow the unfair funding gap, the product of years of partisan power as it concerns lawmakers’ alma maters.
The disparity needs to be bridged. As appropriations cuts loom, it’s time for legislation to take a fair and unbiased look at MSU students’ education and needs. Fair appropriations are needed to guarantee students’ affordable and quality education.
