The
Michigan
House
Appropriations
Committee
released a proposal on Monday
to
change
how
the
state
allocates
funding
to
public
colleges and universities. The
proposed
legislation
would
assign
operational
funding
increases to universities based
on student population instead of
six performance metrics. This
would effectively redistribute
money from the University of
Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus
and
other
institutions
that
previously
received
large
performance
increases
to
universities that received lower
increases but have comparable
student body sizes, including the
University of Michigan’s Flint
and Dearborn campuses.
The
Republican-led
House
Appropriations
Committee
released the draft as part of
the ongoing budget negotiation
process that began Feb. 11 when
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer first
presented her budget proposal
for fiscal year 2022 to the state
legislature.
Legislators
must
send their finalized budget for
Whitmer to sign by July 1, as the
new fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
The
proposal
would
alter
the
distribution
formula
for
state
appropriations,
which
currently
determines
annual
increases to funding at public
universities based on a number of
performance metrics including
research
expenditures,
six-
year graduation rates and total
degree completions. Under the
new House proposal, the funding
each university receives would
instead be determined by the size
of the student body, with each
student earning their university
an average of $6,299.
If passed, the University of
Michigan-Ann
Arbor
would
receive 12.2% less state funding
— about a $40 million decrease —
in fiscal year 2022. Meanwhile,
some
institutions
that
have
traditionally received less state
money in the past, including the
University
of
Michigan-Flint
and the University of Michigan-
Dearborn, would receive a 10%
increase — about $2.5 million for
each campus.
The
Appropriations
Committee
capped
increases
in funding at 10% for each
university. A May 4 version
of the bill released by the
Appropriations
Subcommittee
on
Higher
Education
and
Community Colleges did not
include the cap, and universities
received funding increases as
high as 33%. The recent proposal
would take any increases larger
than 10% and reallocate those
funds
to
universities
who
saw smaller increases or even
decreases in the subcommittee
proposal. If that proposal had
passed, the Ann Arbor campus
would have lost over 13% of its
2020-21 funding.
Whitmer’s proposed budget
called for the state to increase
higher education funding by
over $29 million. Each university
would be given a one-time 2%
increase
over
its
FY2020-21
funding. The House proposal
would
remove
the
one-time
increase,
funding
only
the
mandatory increase in funding
for the state’s Michigan Indian
Tuition Waiver program, which
waives tuition for eligible Native
American students.
Funding based on student
enrollment,
also
known
as
formula
funding,
has
been
criticized
in
the
past
for
incentivizing high enrollment
rates rather than encouraging
high-quality education.
University
President
Mark
Schlissel wrote in a letter to
House
Appropriations
Chair
Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, that
if passed, the proposal would
hurt the University’s ability to
provide quality education to
lower-income
Michiganders
through financial aid programs
such as the Go Blue Guarantee.
“Michigan
ranks
below
the
national
average
in
postsecondary degree attainment
and 33rd in median household
income,” Schlissel wrote. “This
is not coincidental. The data have
shown consistently that workers
with higher levels of education
earn higher wages, yet Michigan
ranks 44th in per-capita support
for higher education.”
Albert was not immediately
available for comment at the time
of publication.
3
Thursday, May 13, 2021
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS
Over 700 University of Michigan
instructors
are
calling
on
the
University to mandate COVID-19
vaccinations for all students attending
in-person classes next fall, as well as
all employees, according to a petition
that began circulating Wednesday.
If the University does not institute a
mandate, the petition requests that
any instructor be able to opt out of
in-person teaching and engagement
with students. The petition cites
the 228 peer institutions that have
mandated vaccines for the upcoming
school year, 76 of which are public.
“We are concerned that students
who refuse to be vaccinated may be
overrepresented among our incoming
class precisely because we do not
mandate vaccination, while students
and parents who are concerned about
COVID safety would prefer to attend a
school with more safety precautions,”
the petition reads.
The instructors petition that the
hypothetical vaccination requirement
go into effect on the first day of Fall
2021 classes if the FDA has given full
approval to at least one COVID-19
vaccine by then. Pfizer is expected
to file by the end of May for full FDA
approval.
The instructors are also petitioning
for exemptions to in-person teaching
regardless of a vaccine mandate for
those with unvaccinated children,
citing expectations that the FDA will
likely not approve vaccines for young
children until the end of 2021 at the
earliest. This request also stems from
the concern that faculty will still face
some pandemic-related issues such
as childcare and/or family members
with
underlying
conditions,
the
petition says.
The
instructors
suggest
only
the University only grants vaccine
exemptions required by law.
“Any person who is not vaccinated
endangers the community, especially
those who are prevented from getting
vaccinated for medical reasons,” the
petition reads. “The approach used
by the State of Michigan for K-12
should be used as a guide: The state
requires childhood immunization
for those who attend public schools,
and parents who claim a non-medical
exemption are required to meet with a
health educator.”
The University announced in
March that the vast majority of small
and medium-sized classes would
be delivered in-person. The petition
claims one of the University’s schools
had indicated courses would be hybrid
or virtual before changing the format
to in-person without the consent or
knowledge of the instructors. It also
states that instructors at another
school were given the choice between
teaching
in-person
and
taking
medical leave.
Lastly, the petition calls for the
University to “provide full financial
support for each school to test and
repair ventilation systems in their
respective classrooms to ensure safe/
sufficient ventilation for instruction.”
The petition comes just weeks
after the University announced a
vaccination requirement for students
living in on-campus housing for the
fall semester. Oakland University is so
far the only other college in Michigan
to announce any such requirement.
In an email to The Daily, U-M
spokesperson
Rick
Fitzgerald
wrote that while the University is
continuing to strongly encourage all
members of the campus community
to receive a COVID-19 vaccination,
the University currently has no plans
to institute a campus-wide vaccine
mandate beyond the requirement
for residence halls. Fitzgerald wrote
students and employees who do not
get a vaccination will be subjected to
similar virus mitigation strategies that
were implemented in the Winter 2021
semester (such as weekly COVID-19
testing).
“We remain confident that as
we progress together toward a
residential
fall
term
experience
with most classes offered with
in-person instruction, we will have
a sufficiently high percentage of our
community vaccinated.” Fitzgerald
wrote. “Encouragement may be more
effective than a mandate to achieve
the goal of maximizing vaccinations
against COVID-19 in the months
ahead.”
Fitzgerald further explained the
University’s thought process for only
requiring vaccinations for students in
on-campus housing.
“We do not require students to live
in residence halls, so students who
object have other options,” Fitzgerald
wrote. “Also, the public health
benefits of a vaccinated residence hall
community are compelling because of
the densely populated conditions of
residence-hall living.”
Fitzgerald also noted an effort in
the Michigan Legislature seeking
to prohibit public universities from
requiring vaccinations to enroll or
attend classes.
“While we oppose such a measure,
we must respect the legislative process
as it plays out,” Fitzgerald wrote.
After choosing to receive the
vaccine,
LSA
freshman
Emma
Kortmansky expressed excitement
as she prepares to attend in-person
classes for the first time this upcoming
fall semester.
“In the fall, there are going to be a
lot of changes with students attending
classes in person for the first time,”
Kortmansky said. “I think it is really
important that everyone attending
classes or in person activities is
vaccinated to protect everyone on
campus, especially those at high risk.”
In an interview in March with The
Daily, U-M President Mark Schlissel
displayed optimism about the fall
semester and said that much of what
the fall semester will look like will
depend on how many students are
vaccinated.
Over 700 U-M instructors call for campus-
wide vaccine mandate
State House proposes new funding
model for higher education
KAITLYN LUCKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
DOMONIC COLETTI
Summer News Editor
Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com
MADDIE FOX/Daily
An Ann Arbor resident receives a COVID-19 vaccine at Meijer in Ypsilanti.