ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW
Switch to smarter higher ed funding
BY STATE SEN. WAYNE KUIPERS • August 11, 2008
The Kalamazoo Promise launched a nationwide discussion of private funding for public higher education and efforts in Michigan to take the concept statewide. And while the unknown benefactor of the Kalamazoo Promise deserves praise for doing what many only talk about -- providing financial incentives for children to pursue higher education -- larger problems still must be addressed at the state level.
The legislation that has reached the Michigan Senate would create "Promise Zones" in poor areas of the state where all or some of the cost of college would be covered with state and local dollars. The problem, as I see it, is that the dollars are not directed to the students, but to the Michigan higher education system.
Right now, the state spends $1.6 billion to help students take advantage of higher education opportunities in Michigan. However, because this money goes directly to the schools, not the students, it limits their opportunity to use it for the university that best meets their needs and chosen course discipline. The Promise Zone legislation also provides no incentive for students to stay in school beyond their "experimental" freshmen year.
Given the condition of Michigan's economy, we need a bold plan that makes higher education more affordable and rewards students for completing their degrees.
I propose that we establish a system by which we put the money in the hands of the students and let them use our state's tax dollars to attend the university that best meets their needs. Each Michigan university would be compensated based on the number of students it attracts and graduates. This would represent a huge improvement on the current system, in which the presidents of our 15 state universities come to Lansing every year and lobby for a raise in funding.
In the system I am proposing, the onus would be on the universities and their ability to provide curriculum and training programs that will allow our students to meet the demands of the marketplace and successfully find careers. Those schools that continually meet the needs of and attract more students will get a higher level of funding.
Under the New University Funding Plan, freshmen attending a public university in Michigan would receive $5,000 to $6,000. The amount would increase each year they continue in school until the student graduates.
The plan also addresses the huge brain drain of students leaving the state immediately after graduation. Companies now in the state and those looking to move here are complaining there are not enough qualified employees in Michigan to fill their available and future positions. Under the new funding plan, students who continue to work in Michigan after they graduate, would also have access to more than $150 million in low or interest-free loans to help make college more affordable. The primary overall goal of the plan, obviously, is to encourage more Michigan students to go to college by making it more affordable.
I recently presented this plan to Lou Glazier, president of Michigan Future, and members of his board of directors. They, too, share my belief that getting more kids in our universities is tantamount to the future economic recovery of Michigan.
"The most prosperous places in the country are those with the highest proportion of adults with a four-year degree or more. Unfortunately, Michigan ranks 34th in college attainment. So finding better ways of encouraging far more of our kids to graduate from college and stay here after college is economic growth priority No. 1," Glazer said.
Of course, there are many details still to be hashed out; including the possibility of providing tax incentives for Michigan-based companies to hire Michigan graduates. But embarking now on a market-based system that gives high school graduates more options in higher education is not only good for our educational system, but the Michigan economy.
WAYNE KUIPERS, R-Holland, 47, represents the 30th state Senate district, encompassing Ottawa County plus Grandville and Sparta Township in Kent County. He chairs the Senate Education Committee. Contact him at SenWKuipers@senate.michigan.gov.
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