April 27, 2006

House panel advances plan for university funding

Some public universities would get state funding increases of more than 4 percent in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 under a plan advanced by a House subcommittee Wednesday. A few universities, particularly Wayne State University, could come out worse under the House proposal than the other plans. Wayne State would see a reduction of 1.9 percent, which alarmed the Granholm administration. \"We\'re obviously very concerned with what the House does as far as funding for Wayne State,\" said Greg Bird, a budget department spokesman for the Granholm administration. Stewart said the House funding formula is based on enrollment, degrees granted and research. Other factors include curriculum strengths and unique features of each university. The plan, endorsed by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, would give higher education about $10.6 million more for university operations than Granholm's proposal. Central Michigan University, Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Oakland University, Saginaw Valley State University, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the University of Michigan-Flint and Western Michigan University would get funding increases of more than 4 percent under the House plan. Michigan State University would get a 3.6 percent increase. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor would get a 3.5 percent boost. Eastern Michigan University would get a 2.9 percent increase, followed by Michigan Technological University (2.1 percent) and Lake Superior State University (1.9 percent). Northern Michigan University would get a 0.3 percent increase.

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