University of Michigan being "cut loose" by the State. To become private school?

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January 16th, 2011 at 4:22 PM
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James Burrill Angell
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University of Michigan being "cut loose" by the State. To become private school?

I've posted in response to other threads that I KNOW the University doesn't WANT to go private but has conducted studies as to what would happen IF the State of Michigan cut its funding. Well, despite the fact that the current governor has three degrees from UofM this article alleges that cutting off funding to the University is on the table (though not probable) as the State figures out how to deal with a $1.8 million budget deficit.

Even the mention of this makes me absolutely nauseous. To think that this would be the only state with its flagship University turned private. Absolutely pathetic. I hope Governor Snyder remembers he's a Michigan Man and keeps this from happening.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110116/NEWS15/101160512/1318/State-of-the-State-Painful-budget-cuts-coming

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January 16th, 2011 at 4:25 PM | Might want to change the (Score:1)
bryemye
Joined: 09/14/2009
MGoPoints: 2374

Might want to change the title of the thread. I have seen thsi bandied about though. I think it's insane purely from the amount the University would have to downsize.

My Blog

January 16th, 2011 at 4:25 PM | article is from the freep (Score:1)
qed
Joined: 09/09/2009
MGoPoints: 395

I am sure they are just trying to start trouble...free press sucks and I wouldn't trust them

Q

January 16th, 2011 at 4:56 PM | Hahahahahaha. (Score:1)
Section 1
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Joined: 06/29/2009
MGoPoints: 14361

What the hell would the Free Press have to do, if, as a private institution, the University of Michigan no longer had to honor a newspaper's FOIA requests?

I love it.

 

 

January 16th, 2011 at 4:27 PM | Fuck that. (Score:1)
GoBlueX2
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Joined: 10/06/2010
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As a hopeful, possible freshman next year, that will severely piss me off.

My dad played for Woody Hayes, and therefore I am a Michigan fan.

No matter what, I will graduate with a degree from U of M one day.

January 16th, 2011 at 4:32 PM | Don't decommit (Score:1)
NorthwesternFan
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Joined: 11/27/2010
MGoPoints: 798

Just don't decommit. Hang in there, the situation will clear up.

'Cats comin' for y'all

January 16th, 2011 at 4:44 PM | If I get the offer, I'm accepting. (Score:1)
GoBlueX2
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Joined: 10/06/2010
MGoPoints: 483

I'm one of those who grow up dreaming of the Block M and Big House.Regardless of the coaching change, I don't commit to a coach, I commit to a school.

 

 

 

Just wish football recruits felt the same....

My dad played for Woody Hayes, and therefore I am a Michigan fan.

No matter what, I will graduate with a degree from U of M one day.

January 16th, 2011 at 4:35 PM | YOu're not kididng. (Score:1)
James Burrill Angell
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If it goes private, its going to be a lot more more competitive to get in once they take away the unwritten rule about trying to keep a 65%/35% split.

January 16th, 2011 at 4:45 PM | Out of state (Score:1)
cbusmichman
Joined: 12/08/2009
MGoPoints: 194

As an out of stater, I wouldn't be so terribly upset to have a much better chance of gaining admission. That would suck for the M residents though.

"Lieutenant Crunch here to see you, sir."

"Actually, I've been promoted. Its now Captain."

January 16th, 2011 at 8:26 PM | Things wouldn't change too (Score:1)
bryemye
Joined: 09/14/2009
MGoPoints: 2374

Things wouldn't change too much for Out of State...

My Blog

January 16th, 2011 at 11:59 PM | Nice avatar....  What's (Score:1)
MontuckyYooper
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Joined: 10/04/2009
MGoPoints: 1429

Nice avatar....  What's protocol here, guys?

January 17th, 2011 at 12:13 AM | Just my epinion. (Which is worthless) (Score:1)
OMG Shirtless
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Joined: 08/16/2009
MGoPoints: 1506

You've both been members for over a year.  Is there any way to really know who was using it first?   Unless you know who started using it first or you designed the avatar yourself, I think you're shit out of luck.  It's a neat avatar but it isn't all that original or anything.

I put up a tough front, but deep down I just want to be held.

January 17th, 2011 at 3:04 PM | Same worthless epinion, but (Score:1)
ken725
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Joined: 10/26/2008
MGoPoints: 4682

Same worthless epinion, but what about who has more points?

Greetings from Bolivia.

"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple."  - Gary Moeller

January 16th, 2011 at 5:20 PM | and that will hurt the state of Michigan (Score:1)
philgoblue
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since even more UofM grads will not be using their talents in this state. Great idea Gov Snyder!

January 16th, 2011 at 5:49 PM | I would be shocked if he does (Score:1)
08mms
Joined: 07/02/2009
MGoPoints: 1685

I would be shocked if he does that.  I think there will be Higher Ed cuts, but Snyder is a Michigan Man and former Regent, most of the "cocktail talk" about severance doesn't come from those with ties to Ann Arbor.

January 16th, 2011 at 7:57 PM | It is not an unwritten rule (Score:1)
Mi Sooner
Joined: 02/09/2010
MGoPoints: 1320

It is law. I thought the split was 70-30.

It dipped below that during Dueterstats rule, and they had to scramble to get back above.

Born in Oklahoma
Raised in Ohio
Escaped to Meechigan

January 16th, 2011 at 8:30 PM | I believe over 90 percent of (Score:1)
bluebyyou
Joined: 09/07/2009
MGoPoints: 2711

I believe over 90 percent of the funding comes from a source other than the state of Michigan.

As an OOS'er with two kids who went there (one gets his second degree this year) it is painful to pay 40K just for tuition.  While i can understand why someone from Michigan would like OOS students to subsidize their educations, there are certain realities that are impacting most state schools.

Most states simply don't have the money to increase funding to their schools. Tuition will go up and the bulk of the rise has to be borne by in-state students as OOS'er are already maxed out.

If you don't fund adequately, facilities don't get built and profs don't get raises.  Your physical plant suffers as does the quality of your faculty.  Even more than that, you simply can't continue to shift the financial burden to OOS students without compromising quality.  I have heard a proposal that tuition should at least partially be a function of affordability.  if your daddy makes the bucks, you pay more. It is a fiction to think that more than a  small percent of in-state students' parents pay enough in taxes to justify the in-state discount.  

U of M is fortunate that the option of going private can even be part of the discussion. Most state schools can't make that claim.

January 16th, 2011 at 11:57 PM | U of M is an asset the State (Score:1)
wesq
Joined: 08/21/2009
MGoPoints: 450

U of M is an asset the State of Michigan owns and built it would be silly not to over compensate for people living in Michigan if they can get away it.  The State of Michigan built U of M and can pass laws just about anyway they see fit.  Just like toll roads and bridges you get what you can from non-voters, it's not about fair or unfair it's about what people will and won't pay for.

January 17th, 2011 at 2:35 PM | It is not law. It was at (Score:1)
Feat of Clay
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It is not law.

It was at one time an written rule as part of the boilerplate of the appropriations bill but it was taken out. 

Generally speaking, U-M has had a "gentleman's agreement" that we wouldn't go hog-wild on the non-resident numbers.  However, with term limits there probably aren't many of the original "gentlemen" left and more to the point, the state has cut U-M so much that U-M is less concerned with honoring it. 

Bottom line:  not law. U-M still keeps the numbers reasonable.  Opinions may diverge about what is "reasonable" as time goes on and funding decreases.  More will be revealed.

 

Candace: No... That why they make smart word box for tell monkey hard brain-hurty things.
Phineas: Removing prepositions makes it more condescending.
January 16th, 2011 at 5:10 PM | Honestly. (Score:1)
T4L
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Hopefully, if true, this doesn't take effect until after the class of 2012 graduates; I need to get in before it becomes harder than it already is.

"Son tell me if I'm right, but its probably better without a big ugly rectum in front of you, and there are some big ugly rectums here. Am I right?"

-Mike Barwis

January 16th, 2011 at 5:11 PM | My son hopes to join you! (Score:1)
bringthewood
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My son hopes to join you!  He applied to seven schools including other Big Ten schools.  Yes from 4, waiting for 1 and deferred from 2 including U of M.

"I knew Bo Schembechler and you sir, are no Bo Schembechler!"

January 16th, 2011 at 4:29 PM | The title of this post is a (Score:1)
aaamichfan
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The title of this post is a bit too sensational. 

January 16th, 2011 at 4:32 PM | Typical political ploy? (Score:1)
Michigantrumpet82
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Develop a long laundry list of "possibilities" to see what raises the most hackles:  a) The budget items causing the least outcry are politcally safer to cut; and b) floating draconian cuts makes the eventual ones seem less painful later on.

January 16th, 2011 at 4:35 PM | i kinda doubt from the freep (Score:1)
qed
Joined: 09/09/2009
MGoPoints: 395

The freep is just about sensational journalism...I kinda doubt it is a political ploy by the gov since the freep endorsed the other candidate I believe.  Free Press is in financial difficulties and will publish anything.

Q

January 16th, 2011 at 4:41 PM | This was... (Score:1)
Togaroga
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MGoPoints: 467

...a very insightful post.  I appreciate it, and I think you're onto something.  Also, this sort of post coupled with you avatar, makes it even better.

January 16th, 2011 at 5:02 PM | Thank you Sir (Score:1)
Michigantrumpet82
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Avatar = Painting c. 1790 of Timothy Matlack hanging in Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  About died when I saw it. Complete Doppelganger. 

January 16th, 2011 at 4:34 PM | UM has been more or less a (Score:1)
stevedore
Joined: 05/01/2009
MGoPoints: 181

UM has been more or less a private institution nowadays, haven't they? They take a pretty decent chunk of folks from out of state for a lot of programs. I mean, they have a huge endowment and a massive alumni base to keep donating money- why depend on the bankrupt state of Michigan for funding?

January 16th, 2011 at 4:39 PM | No. (Score:1)
James Burrill Angell
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Not true.

Still have to keep the unwritten 65% in-staters/35% out-of-staters mix for the undergrad.

Still have to keep instate tuition at about half of out of state tuition (about $19,000 vs. $42,000)

Still receive about $200mil from the state that we wouldn't get any more but all the crappy schools like State, the directional Michigans and GVSU will continue to get. The only reason they're considering it is because Michigan has, through its alums and prestige managed to put together a $6.6 billion endowment while the other schools haven't. So now they're suggesting we have to bear the burden of their failure. The fact that its even being considered is bullcrap.

January 16th, 2011 at 6:07 PM | try a third (Score:1)
Jon06
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don't know where you got those numbers but tuition is not 19k vs 42k for any program i noticed. http://ro.umich.edu/tuition/full.php. starting out for lsa it's roughly 11.5k vs 35k.

RIP my avatar, June 14, 1998 - October 26, 2012.

January 17th, 2011 at 2:44 PM | You're materially right, but (Score:1)
Feat of Clay
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You're materially right, but a couple of nitpicks:

The IS/OOS tuition ratio is more like 1/3, not 1/2.

And we get about $320 million. 

 

Candace: No... That why they make smart word box for tell monkey hard brain-hurty things.
Phineas: Removing prepositions makes it more condescending.
January 17th, 2011 at 2:54 PM | As of 2009 it was more like $400 Million... (Score:1)
NathanFromMCounty
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http://www.finops.umich.edu/reports/2009/pdfs/FinancialStatements.pdf

 

The second page shows that they receive approximately $374 Million in State Appropriations and another $12 Million in Capital Appropriations.  This probably changed a bit most recently, but I can't imagine it did so significantly.

January 17th, 2011 at 3:05 PM | I'm not sure what that $374 (Score:1)
Feat of Clay
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I'm not sure what that $374 million includes in that report; possibly financial aid programs and not sure what else.  As a private school we'd still get some state money, because the state has a grant program for students who go to college in MI but attend a private school.  It comes up for cuts every year but gets reinstated because it's a popular program.

In terms of GF appropriations, which is what would go away tomorrow if we became private, the actual figure is about $320 million.  I guess the Capital stuff would go away as well, but it's not GF.  And its peanuts, too.  $12 million for a campus of this size!

 

Candace: No... That why they make smart word box for tell monkey hard brain-hurty things.
Phineas: Removing prepositions makes it more condescending.
January 16th, 2011 at 4:35 PM | Can't the state just (Score:1)
MichiganExile
Joined: 01/12/2009
MGoPoints: 1121

Can't the state just eliminate MSU from the world. It's not like they contribute anything to society other than felons, females, and final fours.

January 16th, 2011 at 6:03 PM | You don't want them to (Score:1)
skunk bear
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You don't want them to contribute females?

January 16th, 2011 at 6:08 PM | I can live without them. They (Score:1)
MichiganExile
Joined: 01/12/2009
MGoPoints: 1121

I can live without them. They make them better in southern Cali anyway.

January 16th, 2011 at 4:35 PM | To think that this would be (Score:1)
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 29067

To think that this would be the only state with its flagship University turned private

Didn't UT-Austin go private?  I thought they were planning to do that..

January 16th, 2011 at 4:39 PM | Was UPenn always private? I (Score:1)
Bb011
Joined: 09/02/2010
MGoPoints: 1761

Was UPenn always private? I don't know why but for some reason I always just assumed it was public and went private a while back....

January 16th, 2011 at 4:46 PM | Penn has always been private. (Score:1)
justingoblue
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Penn has always been private. PSU has always been the flagship public school in PA.

"We bring you to Michigan to take care of Michigan; your job is to protect that block M."
-Carol Hutchins

January 16th, 2011 at 5:10 PM | PSU is the flagship school of (Score:1)
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 29067

PSU is the flagship school of Pennsylvania, but there's been a long-running debate about whether or not it truly is a public school.  The outgoing governor, Ed Rendell, always referred to it as "private."

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/07/22/penn_state_irrefutably_a_publi.aspx

January 16th, 2011 at 9:45 PM | Hmm that's crazy. I've always (Score:1)
justingoblue
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Hmm that's crazy. I've always thought of that as more of a black and white issue. Interesting stuff.

"We bring you to Michigan to take care of Michigan; your job is to protect that block M."
-Carol Hutchins

January 16th, 2011 at 4:40 PM | No. (Score:1)
James Burrill Angell
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No. Not even close. They still are 90-something percent instaters and funded heavily by the state. We would be the only one.

January 16th, 2011 at 5:17 PM | Okay.  I had heard that a (Score:1)
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 29067

Okay.  I had heard that a measure to make them private was close to passage a couple years ago. 

All this debate is tangential to the more pressing concern: why does a university education have to be so expensive?  I was an undergrad here from 1998-2002.  In-state tution is now more than double what it was when I was a freshman.  Why do the expenses of a university need to increase far beyond the rate of inflation?  Rather than actually think about whether they are efficiency utilizing their resources, universities are just punting on this issue year after year and sticking the consumer (students) with the bill.  I really find it disturbing that the average graduate is saddled with an enormous debt.  That has long-term repercussions for our society.

January 16th, 2011 at 6:12 PM | lots of reasons (Score:1)
Jon06
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MGoPoints: 2161

as a university employee my pay and benefits, generously construed, are roughly equivalent to what you would expect my compensation to be given the number of contact hours i have with students and how much they pay in tuition. nevertheless, my pay is not impressive. the issue is that, in addition to classroom instruction, they're paying for a ton of other stuff. operating costs for facilities, nice gyms, academic counseling, psychiatric counseling, medical services, support staff for all kinds of programs (international office, etc.). it would be a lot cheaper if all they got was the classroom stuff. if you were going to be forced to inflict some pain, you'd probably stop updating gyms first. but doing that sort of thing creates reasons for the best students to go elsewhere, and universities like M are really locked into an arms race for the best.

RIP my avatar, June 14, 1998 - October 26, 2012.

January 16th, 2011 at 9:21 PM | If there is anything at the (Score:1)
Mgobowl
Joined: 05/20/2009
MGoPoints: 1502

If there is anything at the university that is underfunded it is the gyms. It's hard to defer maintenance that was never conducted in the first place...

 

The IMSB was updated maybe 10 years ago (not sure) but pretty much everything else is 30+ years old and has not been touched outside of a coat of paint once in a while. They are finally starting to make some changes and updates, but it is a horrendously slow process and I don't see a positive outcome occuring for 5 or more years.

January 16th, 2011 at 9:35 PM | IM Building reno... (Score:1)
MGoShtoink
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The IM building weight and cardo rooms just went through a massive renovation a few years ago.

January 16th, 2011 at 9:57 PM | Looks like it was was (Score:1)
Mgobowl
Joined: 05/20/2009
MGoPoints: 1502

Looks like it was was officially open in November of '04

http://www.ur.umich.edu/0405/Nov01_04/06.shtml

 

The thing is, students/parents are paying higher and higher tuition rates every year and expect to be getting the most bang for their buck. However, when comparing our rec facilities to other B1G schools and top universities we lag far far behind. Now days people expect state of the art, country club type amenities a la Lifetime Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, etc.

January 16th, 2011 at 9:32 PM | Don't worry, the bubble is (Score:1)
Brodie
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MGoPoints: 3454

Don't worry, the bubble is about to bust.

When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -- Bo Schembechler

January 16th, 2011 at 5:22 PM | I wish they would, or at (Score:1)
wolverhorn
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Joined: 09/03/2010
MGoPoints: 1739

I wish they would, or at least have the state get rid of the top 8% auto-admit rule into any TX public university. 

I'm at UT as a grad student and I don't see nearly as much diversity as I did at UM undergrad.  Plus the heavily state-funded part creates a ton of red tape to get through to make any changes, as voiced by some of the people internally in my program.

January 16th, 2011 at 4:36 PM | Well what a terrible day to be a fan... (Score:1)
NorthwesternFan
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Joined: 11/27/2010
MGoPoints: 798

Goudis decommits

Fisher decommits

now this?

'Cats comin' for y'all

January 16th, 2011 at 4:42 PM | THat said, (Score:1)
James Burrill Angell
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When the University conducted its study, they determined that not only would tuition have to go to about $35,000 or more for everyone, but a number of majors/departments/classes would have to be cut.

Again, whey should we have to do that when the other schools in state don't have to. The answer: Because we've been successful at fundraising and have a good endowment when the other schools haven't and don't.

January 16th, 2011 at 4:44 PM | Our country has been (Score:1)
BlockM
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MGoPoints: 25326

Our country has been rewarding mediocrity and failure for years, why stop now?

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