News & Views item - November 2005

 

 

Michigan Universities Up Enrollments a Bit. (November 25, 2005)

     On November 4 TFW reported, "This past September former University of Michigan President James Duderstadt, as Project Director for the Millennium Project of the University of Michigan, published the detailed 107 page assessment A Roadmap to Michigan’s Future: Meeting the Challenge of a Global Knowledge-Driven Economy -- A Strategic Roadmapping Exercise.

    "As what may be considered an over reaching view he says that Midwest states that cut taxes rather than invest in higher education and innovation are 'consuming the seed corn for (their) future' and claims there is growing recognition around the world that economic security, social well-being and national security are all linked to education and innovation."

 

Today the Detroit News reports that enrollments at Michigan's 15 public universities are up slightly from last year despite an average 11 percent increase in tuition bills for the 2005-06 school year. Universities saw their undergraduate rolls increase by 1,657 this fall, or 1 percent, to reach 223,312, according to the Presidents' Council, State Universities of Michigan.

 

Two of Michigan's public universities rank in the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University's top 100, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (21) and Michigan State University (77).

 

Dan Hurley, director of university relations for the Presidents' Council reported that tuition increases announced this fall put the average annual cost of attending a state university at just under US$6,700 (A$9,100) per annum.

 

It mightn't be untoward for our our Minister for Education, Science and Training as well as some vice-chancellors to keep these statistics in mind, particularly remembering that Michigan's population is just half that of Australia and is hardly running a multi-billion dollar budget surplus.