Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who last year said there was too much "fat" in higher education budgets, said she's changed her mind about the priority colleges and universities should get in state appropriations. Higher education has been hit with more than $200 million in cuts since Granholm took office in 2003, while K-12 education has been largely protected. Following the release Wednesday of Lt. Gov. John Cherry's report recommending ways to double the number of Michigan adults holding degrees or career-oriented certificates in the next decade, Granholm said having a highly educated population is the most important factor to a state's economy. There is an overwhelming correlation. There is more of a correlation than business taxes, more of a correlation than almost any other factor," she said. "…I wish I had known sooner."