Media Report
April 29, 2012Stephen Henderson: Higher ed cuts shortchange Michigan's future
http://www.freep.com/article/20120429/COL33/204290532/Stephen-Henderson-Higher-ed-cuts-shortchange-Michigan-s-future?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s
Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor Stephen Henderson calls Michigan’s track record of funding higher education a “shameful disinvestment” over the past decade. “The public allocation for our 15 colleges and universities has declined steadily, and tuition costs have risen just as steadily to make up the difference. So now, to get an education, all but the richest kids in Michigan essentially have to sign up for indentured servitude. After graduation, they'll have debts that will follow them for years and can't even be escaped in bankruptcy,” Henderson wrote. Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) have outlined how shortsighted it has been for the state to pull back on investing in higher education. “It's hurting our economy, starving it of the 1.3 million college graduates Michigan will need to fill work force demand by 2025. It's putting us behind other states such as Texas, California and North Carolina, which spend an average of $2,000 more than Michigan does per student.” Also, according to BLM's numbers, Michigan's colleges and universities spend less per student on administrative costs than their peer institutions around the country, and they have embraced important cost-cutting reforms. Henderson adds that major reforms will be necessary to reverse the trend.
Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor Stephen Henderson calls Michigan’s track record of funding higher education a “shameful disinvestment” over the past decade. “The public allocation for our 15 colleges and universities has declined steadily, and tuition costs have risen just as steadily to make up the difference. So now, to get an education, all but the richest kids in Michigan essentially have to sign up for indentured servitude. After graduation, they'll have debts that will follow them for years and can't even be escaped in bankruptcy,” Henderson wrote. Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) have outlined how shortsighted it has been for the state to pull back on investing in higher education. “It's hurting our economy, starving it of the 1.3 million college graduates Michigan will need to fill work force demand by 2025. It's putting us behind other states such as Texas, California and North Carolina, which spend an average of $2,000 more than Michigan does per student.” Also, according to BLM's numbers, Michigan's colleges and universities spend less per student on administrative costs than their peer institutions around the country, and they have embraced important cost-cutting reforms. Henderson adds that major reforms will be necessary to reverse the trend.
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