For many years, community colleges and universities have been separated into individual budgets to recognize the differences in their missions, according to an item in this online newsletter. But now officials at Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan want the same lines drawn between them and the state's 12 other four-year educational institutions. The entry carries a link to a longer article by Gongwer News Service that says the three universities are asking that their funding be moved to at least a separate section of the current budget bills, if not to an entirely separate bill. Of particular concern for the schools is that a funding formula would not take into account the added costs, and benefits, of their medical schools and the extensive research conducted at the universities. Harvey Hollins, vice president for government and community affairs at WSU, said the trend in the Legislature is to do funding by formula. "When you have a formula, you've got to have the comparisons right," he said. "It costs more to produce a doctor than to produce a political science student." He also pointed out that costs of being an urban research university are not reflected in the funding formula, nor are costs associated with having a higher proportion of part-time students.