Michigan gives its 15 public universities more than $1.48 billion to operate each year. CMU is No. 12 on that list. Going by that funding, CMU students are less than half as valuable as Wayne State University students. "Doing business in the city of Detroit has higher costs associated with urban areas," explained WSU's Paul Moniodis. WSU also does more research and post-graduate work. The Senate and House of Representatives create formulas which consider enrollment, graduation rates, programs students are taking, and sets maximum and minimum increases in funding. Article includes a sidebar of per student 06-07 state appropriations with WSU in the lead at $8,818.