Penny-pinching should not be considered a bad thing this fall, as state lawmakers have finally decided the fate of higher education.
With the economy on a downward spiral, money is tight. It's never an easy decision or task to tell collegiate institutions, or any learning institutions for that matter, that they will not receive the necessary funding they are used to. It is extremely unfortunate that we are facing cuts at MSU, but at least we're not in it alone.
Universities all across the state are taking a cut in educational funding and the Spartans have been thrown into the deep end of the pool, with a more than $21-million decrease.
Our trustees realize that we are in need of more money to uphold our high-quality education and research, and they are just as disappointed as we are. Also disappointing is the fact that the MSU per-student funding is $7,167, which is about $3,000 lower than our large research counterparts - Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, - combined.
But not everyone is up the creek without a paddle. Grand Valley State University, Saginaw Valley State University, Oakland University and Central Michigan University should receive and split an additional $9.5 million in state funds. These four schools, however, have continuously received less money per student over the years, so it is somewhat uplifting to see someone receiving money on the academic level.
On a positive note for MSU, far apart as they may come in connection to the state budget and funding, the Life Sciences Corridor Initiative will see an increase of $5 million in funding for the 2003-04 fiscal year. The program was stripped of $12.5 million in February by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, but it is good to see the state is replenishing what it has taken. The program was created to develop new technologies in life sciences and will make U-M, Wayne State and MSU among the nations most important research facilities with developing biotechnology applications. So with this project, MSU will hopefully be able to delve into more cash in the future, generating more funding for itself.
So with budget and funding cuts, as well as a 9.9-percent tuition increase, this promises to be an interesting upcoming school year for those doused in green and white, well, maybe a little less green. Fortunately, we may get back some of the money recently plucked from our hands with the new loan program the school is starting. It can be instrumental in our monetary hope and survival, which is exactly what the university needs in such dire economic times.
