As students struggle with mid-terms, it’s report card time for Michigan universities. That’s because Grand Valley State this month issued its annual accountability report to its community.
The GVSU report card, based on well-documented and impartial state data, is a very good and easy to use consumer resource for any Michigan parent or student trying to make good decisions about the increasingly difficult prospects of paying for college. Click here for GVSU’s self-assessment on dozens of measures.
This week, we’ve borrowed from the GVSU report as well as other independent sources to offer a quick and informal consumer glance at Michigan universities.
TUITION: MI INCREASES LOWER THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE
Twelve of Michigan’s 15 public universities raised tuition less than the national average this year, according to nationwide tuition figures released this week by the College Board and statewide figures compiled by the Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan. That’s somewhat encouraging news for Michigan students and parents because Michigan universities have experienced deep cuts in state funding throughout this decade. And $80 million in student financial aid known as the “Promise Scholarships” is subject to possible zeroing out and ongoing deep debate in the Lansing budget brawl. Several universities said they may offer modest tuition rebates as federal stimulus money makes it to campuses. Michigan universities generally enjoy excellent nationwide reputation, but the bad news for Michigan students and parents is that tuition across Michigan campuses is higher than national averages at a time when incomes in Michigan are falling in the deep recession. Details…
FINANCIAL AID: LOANS ARE HUGE, CAMPUSES IMPROVE AID
Good News for Parents and Students: Increased financial aid packages outpaced tuition increases on most Michigan university campuses this fall.
Bad News for Parents and Students: Altogether, students on Michigan’s 15 public university campuses took out more than $1.2 billion in student loans in 2007-08, the last year for which full state-compiled numbers are avail able.
GRADUATION RATES: MANY DON’T GAIN DIPLOMAS
Enrolling in college is nowhere near a guarantee of a degree. Graduation rates remain a nationwide problem, with experts blaming a variety of factors, including increased costs requiring students to work more, a lack of preparation for the rigors of college academics, socio-economic factors, and the notion that many people are not equipped for classroom learning but society pushes them to college anyway. Still, parents and students have to consider how well individual universities guide students to the podium – and the sunk costs of individual student failure. Details…
DIVERSITY
An increasingly global economy suggests today’s students will move into increasingly diverse workplaces. Here’s a sense of the multicultural climate on Michigan university campuses…
THE PUBLIC COST PER DEGREE
In theory, the Michigan legislature provides funding for university operations for a couple key reasons – to help underwrite the cost of creating a talented professional workforce and to support innovative campus climates and their spin-off economic activity. It would be a vast over-simplification to judge a university’s value based solely on how many degrees it produces. But state appropriation per degree is one of many measures budget decision makers must consider in assessing what kind of bang they get for the public buck…
DEGREE PROGRAMS
One of Michigan’s strengths is the depth and breadth of degree offerings on university campuses. The variety allows universities to adapt to broad economic and job market changes and allows students to chase their dreams in many different directions. But are costs increased by all campuses trying to be all things to all students? Michigan’s 15 public universities offer nearly 90 degree programs that conferred fewer than 20 degrees in 2008, including these…
6 Comments
Is the 6 year graduation rate really a valid measure ? Does it sort out part-time students vs full-time working students vs non-working students , % students who pay their own tuition vs those who do not,class size per major , faculty -student ratios and other pertinent factors ? I am a 5 year graduate of Wayne State who paid tuition with parent support and tuition reimbursement from the city of Detroit .I worked in the Detroit Receiving Hospital lab and ER and was trained to be a certified EMT while attending Wayne State. . As a non-traditional student by choice, I had been paying taxes for 3 years and I have worked in Michigan for 29 years after medical school.
Your report card tells an incomplete story about the opportunity that could be available and return on investment of tax dollars. The location and format of U of M and MSU did not allow me the flexibility to do these things.
Take a more thorough look at what the state universities do please and consider the non-traditional student in your reporting.
Wonder to what extent Wayne State’s low graduation rate is a reflection of Detroit’s dismal economy? The same for Eastern and Ypsilanti, U-M in Flint, Saginaw Valley and so on?
Graduation rates appear to reflect the site-specific university’s economies.
Just thinking out loud . . .
When a student transfers from school 1 to school 2 and then graduates from school 2, NEITHER school 1 nor school 2 gets credit in the graduation rate for that student. Schools with a well-established transfer path (such as UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn to UM-Ann Arbor) are unfairly dinged even if they have done an excellent job of preparing students to transfer. This is one of many reasons why the current graduation rate is unfair and unreasonable: any student who deviates in any way from spending exactly four consecutive years at the same school is counted as a “failure.”
As we look at higher education in Michigan, it is a mistake to only look at our many public institutions. We have a myriad of independent colleges and universities that provide excellent education, diversity, and opportunity. A look at the goal to secure a better educated citizenry without considering the significant (and cost-effective)contributions made by the private sector might lead to the conclusion that more of the State’s scarce resources are needed in this area than actually are.
It is ironic that we are adding another medical school with all the overhead costs, and universities are renovating dorms to include fireplaces, restaurant style dining, etc. when more and more students cannot afford the tuition hikes associated with these perks. What really are the priorities in higher education today? I for one wish for the money spent on fireplaces to fund child health and early childhood education so more young people come to school ready to succeed in college someday!
As a business owner and retired high school teacher of 26 years, I perceive the the low college graduation rate as a problem of HS prepartation. Most HS students envision themselves attending college thinking it will somehow be different and transforming but find it much the same. Far more emphasis needs to be placed on career specific education in HS to help students chose degree progams better suited to their interests and abilities. One quote I shall never forget as I explained how to use a stop watch to group of HS teachers in an applied mathematics seminar was “we’re just teachers, we don’t how to do anything.