State Aid: Six Michigan Universities Remain Below 2011 Levels of Aid

LANSING — Aggregate funding for Michigan's public universities in the next state budget will still be less than it was before a major cut five years ago, despite Gov. Rick Snyder's initial proposal to bring them back to levels in place when he took office in 2011.

Spending will rise about $40 million to $1.4 billion, a 2.9 percent increase, under a spending plan up for final legislative votes this week. The Republican governor and lawmakers had hoped for a $60 million, or 4.4 percent, boost.

More than a third of the 15 state universities — Michigan, Michigan State, Wayne State, Western, Eastern and Oakland — will receive less in the next budget than in the 2010-11 fiscal year. That was the year Snyder took office and subsequently cut state aid by 15 percent following years of reductions during Gov. Jennifer Granholm's tenure.