Public university group urges larger state investments, highlights Michigan Achievement Scholarship gains

Chair Markkanen and members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and Community Colleges heard a presentation from Dr. Daniel Hurley, chief executive officer of the Michigan Association of State Universities, calling for larger state investments in public universities and continued build-out of the Michigan Achievement Scholarship.

Hurley told the committee that Michigan’s 15 public universities enroll about 260,000 students and award more than 67,000 degrees annually. “We are blessed with 15 public universities,” he said, and added that the institutions serve as “workforce engines” and generators of research and innovation.

Hurley framed three funding priorities for fiscal 2026: (1) increase ongoing state operating support by a proposed 4.8 percent (which he said amounts to about $83,500,000), (2) continue expanding the Michigan Achievement Scholarship (MAS), and (3) create a recurring campus infrastructure line for ITEMS (infrastructure, technology, equipment, maintenance and safety) and requested $100 million for that purpose. “Our ask is a hundred million dollars, this year and subsequent years,” Hurley said.

He defended the request with data on affordability and return on investment. Hurley cited a Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce tool showing net lifetime returns for graduates from Michigan’s public universities (he summarized figures of about $188,000 at 10 years and roughly $1.3–1.9 million over longer horizons). He also said the average net price of attending a Michigan public university declined about 8 percent between 2019 and 2023 and that the share of price as a portion of household income dropped from about 28 percent to 21 percent in that period.

Hurley described MAS as a major driver of improved affordability and participation: he said about 34,500 students—roughly six in 10 public university students—currently receive the award, which can be worth up to $5,500 per year for up to five years; he added the average award for recipients is about $5,200. He credited recent state investment and marketing with stronger uptake and recommended continued funding to sustain and build the program’s reach.

On state support history, Hurley said Michigan has fallen behind other states in per-student operating support for higher education, noting the state was near the middle of the national distribution in 2001 but now ranks much lower. “We have plummeted now to 40th in the country,” he said, and he described a long-term shift in who pays for public university education: where state support once covered a much larger share, he said only about 22 percent of general fund support now comes from the state while student contributions have grown.

Hurley also called attention to campus maintenance needs, saying the systemwide deferred maintenance backlog is about $6,440,000,000 and arguing that ITEMS funding would support basic preservation that donors typically will not cover. He noted research and development totals of about $3.3 billion and said four R1 universities together generate an estimated $24 billion in annual economic impact.

Subcommittee members asked questions after the presentation. Representative Rogers praised the ROI case and asked which funding areas the subcommittee should prioritize if federal cuts force state budget trade-offs; Hurley reiterated his recommendation to sustain and increase investments in operating support and student financial aid. Representative Roth asked about average tuition; Hurley said published tuition is higher than average net price and that, after federal, state and institutional aid, average net price is substantially lower than listed tuition. Representative Longjohn asked follow-up questions about early-career outcomes and whether the ROI tool reports shorter timeframes; Hurley said institutions conduct graduate outcome surveys and offered to provide more detailed, institution-level data to the committee.

The subcommittee approved the minutes of the March 19, 2025 meeting by unanimous consent before the presentation; a motion to excuse absent members was made later in the meeting (no recorded roll-call vote on that motion appears in the transcript).

Hurley concluded by saying the combined requests—operating support increases, continued MAS expansion and ITEMS funding—would support affordability, academic quality and student success if enacted.