For many students, the balance between class and an outside job assists in getting a solid education while having some money to spare.

But for those looking for extra money, Galicki suggests taking the time to seek out enough funding to limit the weight on one’s shoulders.

“I’ve been looking on places wherever I can get money,” Galicki said. “Always fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) … no matter what — it can never hurt. And you also can find jobs anywhere on or off campus.”

Students are not the only ones constantly searching for more ways to fund their education. Throughout the past decade, MSU and state officials alike have searched for money, and will continue to do so in years to come.

But harsh realities presented by a struggling economy and decreased revenues have made financial aid an increasingly necessary mean. It is a trend that shows no sign of changing anytime soon.

Spartan greenbacks

With each passing school year, MSU students increasingly are relying on aid from the university and government to pay for the cost of attendance.

During the 2001 aid year — which includes the fall 2000 as well as the spring and summer 2001 semesters — MSU contributed about $32 million in aid money to about 31,000 students in the form of scholarships, grants, loans and work study programs.

Now, nearly a decade later, officials in MSU’s Office of Financial Aid estimate the university will pay out about $119 million to more than 38,000 students.

In total, MSU dispersed about $221 million in governmental aid to students in 2001, which included funding from the state, the federal government and private sources. The university will pay an estimated $585 million to students this upcoming year.

The stark contrast between the two amounts can be attributed to the increasing cost of education from year to year.

“It is MSU that has been trying to increase its commitment to aid to help needy students (so they are) able to cover the same amount of costs year to year as tuition goes up,” said Rick Shipman, director of the MSU Office of Financial Aid.

MSU’s financial aid budget totals throughout the past 10 years include tuition and fees, room and board, books and personal expenses, Shipman said. During the 2001 aid year, students budgeted for about $12,000 in costs. This year, students budgeted for as much as $22,000 — a nearly $1,000 increase each year.

A large majority of the financial aid MSU gives to students to pay toward schooling is tied to the university’s general fund, as well as a combination of tuition revenue, investments and university endowments, Shipman said. The fund is expected to be a stable source of revenue because it increases whenever tuition goes up, he said.

At its June 18 meeting, the MSU Board of Trustees proposed a 13 percent increase in financial aid offered by the university for the 2010-11 academic year. The board also approved an in-state student tuition increase of 2.5 percent for the coming school year.

The board approved a preliminary 2011-12 budget at that meeting. It planned for another 10 percent increase to financial aid offered by the university, with tuition not to increase more than 7.2 percent.

The move to increase financial aid offered by the university increased the overall amount available to about $93.5 million from $83 million — money specifically tagged for financial aid held within the general fund, Shipman said.

Each year, MSU officials make it a priority to distribute additional aid to students with each increase in tuition, Shipman said.

But that goal becomes more difficult during turbulent economic times coupled with a state government that continually makes cuts across the board, especially in higher education, during the last 10 years.

“It’s the economy,” said Ellen Jeffries, deputy director of the nonpartisan Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency. “It’s because the state government doesn’t want to spend money. The state has lost so much revenue over the last decade because of the automobile industry, in part.”

A steady economic recession in addition to a lack of jobs throughout the last several years resulted in state funding cuts to Michigan’s 15 public universities, said Michael Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.

Stateside and federal aid

If the state’s and country’s economies do not reverse themselves and revenue is not created within the state budget, investments toward Michigan’s higher education appropriations are expected to decrease.

Michigan’s 15 public universities were appropriated about $1.61 billion in funding during the 2001-02 fiscal year, Jeffries said. During 2009-10, funding to the state’s universities was about $1.46 billion. MSU’s share of the funding during the latter totaled about $291.8 million, according to documents from the Senate Fiscal Agency.

Legislators expect funding will continue to fall from those levels if action is not taken to control the state’s budget.

“We are going to have to make some very important and far-reaching decisions about higher education funding in the state of Michigan soon,” said state Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, who chairs the Michigan House of Representatives Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

Michigan is required by law to finalize a budget by Oct. 1, Bauer said. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Democrat-controlled state House have proposed to keep higher education funding for the upcoming fiscal year at the previous fiscal year’s level to balance the state’s nearly $700 million budget deficit.

The Republican-led state Senate in March proposed to decrease funding by 3.1 percent to $1.41 billion from last year’s $1.46 billion. Bauer said she voted against last year’s state budget because deep cuts were made to education and financial aid.

But some legislators, such as state Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, who is vice chair of the Senate Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, voted for the state’s budget because a balanced budget was necessary to pass during the time permitted by law.

Although Bauer and George believe additional cuts will be made, George said the actual percentage of next year’s cuts will not be known until later this month.

“The House budget was passed and it wasn’t balanced,” George said. “They appropriated more money than what money was actually coming in — it was unrealistic. The end result will probably be in between (the House and Senate higher education recommendations).”

At MSU, state financial aid contributions to the university remained flat at around $45 million from aid years 2005-09. This upcoming school year, state financial aid funding is expected to drop to an estimated $29 million — a decrease the state’s other public universities also will face.

“What we need to see happen is that the state of Michigan has to get back in the game of giving financial aid dollars to students or giving the money to the school so that the school can reduce what it charges to students,” Shipman said.

“I think the federal government is starting to understand that it is not a good thing to make so many students borrow so much money.”

The number of dollars taken out in loans has more than doubled in the past decade. During the 2001 aid year, MSU students took out more than $147.6 million in loans. The projected amount for the 2010-11 academic year is $364.4 million.

Such an increase is cause for concern looking ahead, Shipman said.

“We try to get students to think about what they’re really going to be making in their first 10 years (out of college) and what they can afford to take out of that income to use to repay their loans,” he said. “Don’t borrow more money than you can handle.”

Bracing for the future

Although it is almost certain higher education will face additional appropriation cuts, much deeper cuts and sacrifices might be in the state’s — and students’ — futures.

About 30 years ago, MSU’s budget generally consisted of 75 percent state appropriations and 25 percent tuition, Boulus said. Those numbers since have switched. Unless something is done, the trend is expected to remain in place.

The federal government’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 distributed about $2.8 billion in education funding to Michigan and placed a limit of how much cuts can be made to higher education — 3.1 percent — and that limitation will be removed next year, Bauer said.

There are no reassurances that a higher — or lower — percentage cut will be made, she said.
But there might be some hope for students and public universities.

“Financial aid advisors across the state have put together a proposal that is very intriguing and that would make long-term strides in making financial aid affordable,” Bauer said. “As soon as (next year’s) budget is over, we’ll be taking a look at that proposal. It will cost about $250 million, but it will go a long way.”

In an election year, there is potential to bring about a change to the state — and the state of education in Michigan, Boulus said. Now is the time for student voters to begin asking the questions of Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and Ann Arbor businessman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder before the November general election, he said.

“Students need to find out what the real commitment is — not the verbiage,” Boulus said.

“They need to ask, ‘What’s your plan Mr. Bernero, Mr. Snyder? What’s your plan to make higher education a higher priority? That’s when you get into the real nitty gritty of how you’re going to make this work.”

In the meantime, as legislatures and elected officials work in the present, uncertain times might result in unpredictable cuts.

“We will have to talk about how we would raise additional revenue,” Bauer said.

“If we don’t do something like that, if we don’t find ways to increase revenue, then I see nothing more but cuts.”