The Association of Michigan Universities' online writing campaign produced more than 2,500 letters supporting higher education funding, but fell short of its goal by more than 7,000 letters.

The two-week campaign, which ended Nov. 30, was hosted by the association to urge students, parents, professors and administrators to voice their concerns about higher education funding during the state's $920 million budget deficit.

Association Chairman Hrant Hratchian said the organization might have fallen short of its goal to get 10,000 online letters composed, but handwritten letters still aren't being sent in.

By going to www.helphighered.org, people could e-mail legislators and officials who have a direct hand in deciding how the $38.6 billion state budget is trimmed.

Hratchian said it can be difficult to encourage students to participate in political processes such as the letter-writing campaign.

"This kind of approach has been done for a long time with moderate results," Hratchian said.

Despite the low numbers of student participation in lobbying for higher education concerns, Hratchian said the campaign was successful in conveying the concerns of students to legislators.

"The letter campaign continues right now to be the strongest means for communication through Lansing legislators," Hratchian said. "At this point, the message has gotten out pretty strongly to those in Lansing, and we have been pretty successful."

Association spokeswoman Sarah Neitzke was uncertain if the deadline would be extended because the campaign had fallen short of its goal.

Hratchian said the organization has been doing its best to inform students of the situation involving the future of higher education in Michigan through a grassroots campaign of word of mouth and e-mail.

But there is only so much, he said, that can be done to thoroughly inform the public and students of budgetary cuts to education.

"There is no good way to do it, and the sad fact of the matter is that we can't explain everything that is going on in a 30-minute conversation," Hratchian said.

Hratchian said it is now up to legislators to read the letters written by concerned students and administrators to determine what kind of importance they want to place on higher education.

"We see cuts to higher education more frequently, and now it seems like higher education is slipping down the slope, and once it falls down, it is very difficult to get back to where it was at," Hratchian said.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to make her executive order this week on the amount on funding that will be given to public universities.

Hratchian said the association has done everything it could to protect higher education with the letter-writing campaign.

"At this point, there is not much more we can do beside writing to legislators in Lansing," he said.