Some officials from universities around the state are saying the Governor's proposed cuts are deeper than the 15% they expected.
The Detroit News had a piece on the reaction over the weekend by reporter Karen Bouffard.
Bouffard wrote "university officials said they discovered the cuts after pouring through the details of Snyder's proposed budget."
Mike Boulus, the executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, said the Governor didn't portray the proposed cuts openly:
"I find it less than honest that you would portray the cut as 15 percent, and call additional money an 'incentive' if you keep tuition less than 7.1 percent. It's clearly less than transparent in the way it's been presented."
Governor Snyder's spokesperson said the proposed cuts were portrayed clearly.
To keep their cuts at 15%, universities have to agree to keep their annual tuition hikes under 7.1%.
If they don't, cuts in state aid could be greater than 15%.
The cuts proposed for the 15 public universities in the state average 21%, according to the article.
Some of the specific proposed cuts mentioned in the piece (cuts if universities don't hold tuition increases under 7.1%):
- 23.3% for Central Michigan University
- 19% for Eastern Michigan University
- 21.9% for Grand Valley State University
Some university officials said "they will try to hold tuition increases under the 7.1 percent cap, although they can't be sure until their boards begin approving next year's budgets in June or July."
According to the article, the largest cut universities have seen in the last 32 years was 8.5%.
