Efforts to control costs and increase access continue
DETROIT, Mich., February 26, 2015 – Performance data for each of Michigan’s 15 public universities, released online today by Business Leaders for Michigan, shows the state’s higher education sector is performing better than most peers in producing talent while working to control costs and increase access.
The Michigan Performance Tracker for Public Universities reports on about 30 different metrics that measure productivity and efficiency, affordability and access, and economic impact.
Visitors to the Performance Tracker can see exactly how much Michigan invests in its public universities compared to other states as well as how Michigan’s universities compare to peer universities in other states on graduation rates, degrees awarded in critical skills areas (including science, technology, engineering and math), and the cost of attendance.
Data available in the dashboard shows that most Michigan universities receive less state appropriations but generally out-perform their national peers.
Producing Talent:
- Twelve of Michigan’s public universities achieve better than their peer average for producing critical skills degrees, and eight are among the top 20 percent of their peers.
- Eleven MI universities can boast graduation rates higher than their peer average, with four among the top 20 percent of their peers.
- Ten of the state’s universities are delivering more total degrees than their peer average, and seven are among the top 20 percent of their peers.
- As a group, Michigan’s public universities rank 6th in total degrees produced and 5th nationally in critical skills degrees produced (critical skills degrees include those in fields such as science, technology, engineering and math).
Increasing access and controlling cost
- Between 2010 and 2012, all 15 of Michigan’s public universities increased the number of students receiving Pell grants by 10 percent on average.
- 9 of 15 universities reduced administrative costs as a percentage of core expenditures.
“These outcomes are crucial to the state’s future prosperity,” said Doug Rothwell, President and CEO. “We know the jobs of tomorrow are going to require workers with more education. It’s also true that people with knowledge and training beyond high school are more likely to be employed, and stand to earn up to twice as much as those without it. These earnings differences are too significant to be ignored—Michigan needs high-quality, high-value institutions of higher learning if we’re going to stay on track to economic growth.”
Rothwell highlighted his organization’s report on higher education, released earlier this month, which shows 70 percent of jobs in Michigan jobs will require an education beyond high school by 2020.
“Despite this level of need, only 37 percent of Michigan workers currently have an education beyond high school,” Rothwell said. “That’s a lot of ground to be made up in a very short amount of time. The higher education performance tracker is built to help us keep focused on our goal of building a stronger, more educated work force.”
A review of the data found that 13 of 15 Michigan universities remain below their peer average for state support and nine of 15 are higher than their peer average for average net price of attendance for in-state students. “The data suggest that Michigan universities are providing a higher level of service and more robust student outcomes, but Michigan students are carrying a larger share of the cost of earning a degree compared to students in other states,” Rothwell said.
Rothwell noted that nearly 49 percent of Michigan public university core revenues come from tuition—more than 15 percent more than the weighted peer average.
“We know our universities are providing strong value and delivering excellent results. We need to support our higher education sector with the dollars they need to be truly competitive.”
The Performance Tracker for Public Universities was first launched in 2013 and was created in collaboration with the Anderson Economic Group and the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan. It can be found here.
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