Monday, June 20, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com STATE BUDGET Gov. Snyder to sign state budget into law Despite cuts, 'U' assures students will recieve quality education By SARAH ALSADEN Daily Staff Reporter Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's proposed budget - which was sent to his desk on June 7 for a signa- ture after receiving approval from both the state House and Senate - is expected to be signed into law within the next week. The proposed budget includes a 15-percent cut in funding for higher education, and once signed, the University will experience an approximate $47 million dollar cut for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1 - a sizeable cut that reduces the University to the level of funding they received in 1964. Kurt Weiss, public information officer for the Michigan Depart- ment of Technology, Management and Budget, said despite the vast cuts, Snyder's proposed budget aims to help students by including an incentive foruniversities to keep tuition prices low by mandating that tuition rates do not increase more than the five-year average of 71 percent. "The reason that incentive was put in there - the 7.1 percent rule - was to try to hold tuition hikes down," Weiss said. "The goal was to try to incentivize Universities to not hike tuition drastically as a result of this cut." In accordance with this pro- posal, the University's Board of Regents voted to increase tuition by 6.7 percent for in-state students and 2.9 percent for out-of-state student at their monthly meeting, according to a June 16 article in The Michigan Daily. In a University press release, University President Mary Sue Coleman said that while the admin- istration ultimately had to raise tuition in response to difficult eco- nomic times in the state, it would not compromise the quality of edu- cation provided by the University. "While we continue to control costs, we are driven by the funda- mental missions of academic excel- lence and affordability," Coleman said. "On this we cannot and will not compromise. This generation of students expects their Michi- gan education to be the same qual- ity and deliver the same positive impact in their lives as all those who have come before. Our job is to deliver on that promise." Weiss echoed Coleman's sen- timents and said that despite the cuts, the administration believes the University can maintain their level of distinction in providing a quality education to students. "From a budget office perspec- tive and from the administration's perspective, we feel that the cuts that have been proposed are doable and that the University can contin- ue to provide a great education for the kids here in Michigan, for our students," Weiss said. She added that while the state itself is looking for ways to cut costs, so are the various universi- ties around Michigan. It will ulti- mately be up to each individual college to determine how to best allocate their funds and determine policy, she said. "(The state is) looking for uni- versities to adopt the best practices, to find savings in operational areas - whether that be healthcare, non- instructional line items," Weiss said. "It would be up to each uni- versity as to how to become more efficient." According to the University press release, in order for the Uni- versity to follow these recommen- dations, sacrifices must be made, including cutting employee ben- efits and closing programs. "The University will ask employees to pay more for health benefits, close several centers, reduce operational staff through attrition when possible, and reduce and implement a host of other cost- cutting measures campus-wide," the press release states. John Jackson, a political sci- ence professor at the University, wrote in an e-mail interview that though he believed the cuts may be effective in balancing the state budget, they might not be the most effective in mitigating damage done to the state's economy in the long term, largely because it may discourage students from attending and graduating from the University. "There is very sound research that shows that economic growth and performance at all levels - metropolitan, state and national - increases with the education level and with the proportion of college graduates," Jackson wrote. Jackson added that research has presented evidence that a high number of college graduates is instrumental in helping to trans- form ailing economies like Michi- gan's. "If the shift from state to per- sonal funding for college atten- dance, which has been going on for decades, reduces the number attending the implications are not good for the state's economy," Jackson wrote. 420 Maynard at. AnnArbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com BETHANYBIRON ZACHARYYANCER Editr inChi2 Bsness ae bethlam ichiandaiy.om zyancr@aricanidrln,,, CONTACT INFORMATION Newsroom ofce hours Su""-Thus." am.-2a.m News Tips news@michigandaiy.com Corrections corrections@michigandailycom letterstothetEditor rrthedaily@mrichiganday.com orvt mcgarrdaityacomllet,,, Photo Department lra,,a mchgandalncao, ArtsSection arts@michigandailom EditorialPage opinion@michiganda i-com SportsbSection sports@mrichiganda ilycom Magazine klareki@ichigandailycor Advertising Phone:734-764-0554 Department display@michigandaily.com Classifieds Phone:734-7440557 Department classifed@michigandaily.com EDITORIAL STAFF Mak nsManaging Editor Brie Prusak Managing News Editor tpr ua k @rr s)tar aliy-crn SENIOR NEWS EDITOR: Sarah Alsaden Teddy Papes Editorial Page Editor tedpapesamihigandao ia.com SNIO EDTRAPGEEDITORS: Will Stepheni Nesbitt ManagingSportsEditor s tn e blt(,r is ia n da ila ci o m JuliaAlixSmith-Eppsteiner ManagingArtsEditor jt lalix@mnichigandailycom SENIOR ARTS EDITOR: Proma Khosla Erin Kirkland ManagingPhotoEditor photo@m ichiganda iy. com ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR: Torehan Sharnan AngelaChih Managing Design Editor design@michigandaily.con Haley GoldbergCopychief copydesk@michigandaily.com SarahiSquire WebDevelopmentManager squire@rrichigandaily.com BUSINESS STAFF Ashley Karadsheh Sales Manager AlexisNewton Production Manager MeghanRooney Layout Manager Connor Byrd SpecialProjects Quyvo Circulation Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is avaitable tree at charge to all readers. Additianal copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, aa US. mail are $110. Winer tern (Januarythroagh Aprilt rn $15, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates aresubject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The AssociatedtCollegiate Press. University instates new study abroad policy U I 6 I Students and faculty must now purchase insurance, confirm with registry By PATRICIA SNIDER Daily StaffReporter Changes have recently been made to the University's inter- national travel policy in hopes of improving the study abroad expe- rience for University members traveling overseas. According to John Godfrey, chair of the International Travel Oversight Committee, there are three major changes being made to international travel policy at the University, including an alteration to the University's risk assessment of possible study abroad locations, a mandate that all student travel- ers have insurance and a require- ment that students register with the University's travel registry. Godfrey said previous study abroad sites were determined based on State Department travel warnings, while the new policy allows the University to evaluate the risks of locations themselves and be more involved in the deci- sion-making process of where to send students. "The benefits are going to be enormous, as far as the Univer- sity's ability to support all of our travelers overseas in case they have any problems," Godfrey said. "Study abroad is evolving ... with this new policy at hand, we might be in a position to better evaluate current risks and conditions and make recommendations under certain circumstances for study abroad programs going forward." He added that the State Department travel warnings are useful, but can limit the study abroad experience of students. "We've been considering this for a number of years - that our use of state travel warnings is easy for us to use ... on the other hand it comes at considerable costs," Godfrey said. "As a policy, we found ourselves ending programs in countries that did not have any considerable risks." According to a June 15 Univer- sity press release, changes to the international travel policy were decided after Mark Tessler, vice provost for international affairs, consolidated a review of peer uni- versity study abroad policies. "Knowing where our students and their mentors are and being able to reach them is absolutely essential in an emergency," Tes- sler said in the release. "The low- cost insurance coverage provides a means to get assistance to them when needed." Godfrey said the required study abroad insurance may ease concerns of travelers and their families, particularly because it's cost efficient since its valued at "a little over a buck and a quarter a day." The insurance will provide full coverage, 24-hour emergency toll-free calls to English-speaking personnel and evacuation if need- ed. While undergraduates have been required to have Univer- sity study abroad insurance since 2008, the new policy requires everyone traveling through the University to have insurance, See ABROAD, Page 3