The closest thing to unanimous support: funding universities

A new poll shows that nearly 92 percent of Michigan voters believe the state’s universities are very or somewhat important in creating new jobs.
The survey conducted by the nonprofit Business Leaders for Michigan in January showed some support for reforms in higher education but not for a cost-cutting plan to put all public universities under the control of one board.
 

By an overwhelming margin of 87 percent to 8 percent, voters strongly oppose the idea of amending the Michigan Constitution to create one statewide system to manage Michigan’s universities and eliminate individual university boards.
“Voters do not want to create another statewide bureaucracy, particularly when they learn that Michigan’s university administrative costs are actually lower than other states with statewide systems,” explained Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of BLM.
 

The telephone poll of 600 registered voters found support for tying student performance in key areas to state funding. Nearly 68 percent of voters support the idea of allowing universities to earn back some of the money that has been cut from higher education if universities increase their graduation and retention rates, keep administrative costs low, and increase financial aid.
“These results confirm that Michigan voters clearly understand our public universities are one of our greatest assets for growing jobs and Michigan’s economy,” Rothwell said.