Michigan Higher Education Funding 101

<p>How much funding do we receive and what areas of MSU receive funds in this process?</p><p>“The number changes a little bit every year, so the number I'm giving right now, which is $287 million is a number that we're getting this year,” says Bertram. “Now that's just in one line for one purpose. That's general operating dollars from the state of Michigan. In addition to that $287 million, <a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/research/">AgBioResearch</a> gets about $35 million and <a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/outreach/">MSU Extension</a> gets about $30 million. There are other smaller programs like <a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/project-greeen/">Project Greeen</a>, which is an annual program that does plant-based agriculture research. There are a number of other programs as well. </p><p>“When you add it all up, it's about $400 million a year, maybe a little under that for all of MSU. This is money that goes into our general fund, but not for Athletics. I would distinguish that no money from the state goes to Athletics. I'd also qualify that no money from student tuition goes into Athletics. Athletics is a completely standalone program; they're self-sustaining. They receive gifts from donors as well.”</p><p>“What I would add in there is that for the $287 million of general operations, that works out to be about 20 percent of our operating fund today,” adds Reuter. “Historically that number was much higher. And another point on Athletics is that the scholarships that students receive are funded by Athletics. The scholarships are for full tuition rates that Athletics has to cover. So as the cost of tuition rises, that's an increased cost for Athletics to have to be able to cover in their operating budget and in their revenue stream. So, while there are no direct dollars coming from the state going there, there is a correlation in terms of cost of operations for Athletics based on what the university's tuition is.”</p><p>With a need for a more educated workforce to meet the employment needs of today an