Budget cuts weaken faculty, enrollment

Lagging state funding for higher education is driving tuition up at such a fast rate that it's pricing education out of the reach of many potential students. That financial squeeze will combine with a 30% increase in high school graduates in the next decade, creating either waves of new demand, or legions of low skilled people.

"Two numbers, I think, are critical," says Ralph Faudree, provost at the U of M. "One is funding from the state according to the formula, which was 87% last year and only 83% this year. Tuition was 30% of revenue and now it's 42%."

The standard formula is for state government to provide 60% of the cost of education, with the student picking up 40%, through tuition, grants, loans and other sources. At current trends, that formula will be reversed in less than two years.

"Education is not the solution to everything, but economically it makes a big difference," he says. "This is not an incentive system; it's encouraging people not to go to college."

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