A few days ago, I talked to University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman about all this, for a project I am doing for the alumni magazine on the school’s future.
The U of M is the oldest and, most people would agree, the most important university in the state, as well as the best endowed. Generations of admiring and grateful alumni have given generously to the school. But that doesn’t mean Michigan has enough money to do everything it wants or believes it needs to do.
When I asked President Coleman about the financial challenges, she said when people asked what kept her up at night “it isn’t really very sexy to say money - but it does.”
Essentially, she added, the university is in good shape, except that “We are in a state that is going through a very tough economic transition. And what is on my mind is how we are going to secure the resources we need and get the best faculty.”
All that “costs money. And that’s what I am worried about,” she said. People may think of Michigan as an elite place, but she reminded me “We’ve had a guarantee for Michigan residents for a long time that if they can get into the university, we will find a way to make it affordable for families -- regardless of income.“
Students “may have to do some work-study,” but there are many financial aid programs to help get them through.
That’s not a guarantee, however, that the U of M can extend to students from out of state. And Ann Arbor has a higher percentage of these than our other public universities. A third of the undergrads and slightly more than forty percent of all students are classified as non-Michigan residents. And they pay higher tuition.
Which means they provide more revenue for the university. President Coleman told me while that no decision has been made, the university has been giving some thought to admitting more out-of-state students, partly because of money, and partly because the number of high school graduates is declining.
That’s because the overall state population is aging. Taking more out-of-state students would be controversial - but she believes that if the U of M did decide to do this, it would help other state universities, “because if we edge up our out-of-state enrollment, then other institutions within the state will get more in-state students.“
President Coleman has been running Michigan now for eight years - longer than most university presidents last.
“The state has a huge investment in this university that it has made over almost two centuries,” she noted. She believes it has been more than worth it, and that the university is well-positioned to adapt and to help Michigan adapt to changing times.
In another eight years, she hopes people would look at the U of M and, “say that we‘ve brought the spirit of entrepreneurialism into the classroom and into opportunities for students in a way that nobody else has been able to do.”
You’d think that was an ideal we’d find worthy of investing in.
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