“Michigan’s gone from being one of the top 10 states supporting higher education. We’re now pushed down to the middle and are about 37th overall (nationally),” Simon said. “In the last three to five years, we’ve been in the bottom 10. It’s just plain stupid.”

The university has already made more than $70 million in reductions. Changes to employee health benefits also are likely on the way, she said, as “people are 80 percent” of the university’s costs.

An example of a way MSU could lower costs, Simon said, would be to follow one of Indiana University’s budget-cutting strategies. She said Indiana currently has lower academic standards for out-of-state students than in-state students to capitalize on the additional income from out-of-state tuition costs.

Simon said she was “just telling you what everybody else is doing” and doesn’t anticipate using a similar policy in the near future, though she called it a “conversation that will happen” in the next few years. She said the policy involves more than numbers — it also involves the values of the university.

“It’s a very profound policy question,” she said. “If you just look at the budget, it’s pretty easy … As president, you have to understand the numbers, but you really also have to understand the direction of the university.”

Human biology freshman Zach Wilseck said Simon’s visit to their class was “really interesting,” especially in the way she explained the subject matter.

“It was nice to hear somebody who knows what’s going on,” Wilseck said. “It helped me to understand what’s going on with the state. It was helpful for her to explain the reasons why our tuition is going up so much.”

Fayyaz Hussain, the professor who invited Simon to his class, said he likes to bring in outsiders to speak, as it gives students a different perspective. He said Simon’s speech explained some of the key issues for students today.

“It’s really big issues, and they’re hurting everybody,” Hussain said. “They’re hurting you and me.”