Michigan Department of Career Development
Postsecondary Services
August 2003

Operating budgets

Michigan's 28 community colleges experienced a 3.5% executive order cut in FY 2002-03 to $308,010,894, down from $319,196,318.  For FY 2003-04, the college appropriations base is cut an additional 6.02% to $289,013,100.  The community college appropriations represent 3.35% of the state's general fund budget.  The overall deficit was nearly $2B of the $38.6B state budget.

Michigan's community college board of trustees receives state general fund dollars and approves their own local budgets.  They set their own tuition rates and approach local voters to approve millage and bond assessments.  For the first time since 1982, community colleges have had to lay off staff to achieve a balance budget.
 

Capital budgets

The state bonds for capital outlay expenditures approved by the legislature.  Local community college board of trustees can seek local voter approval for special millage and bond proposals without state approvals.
 

Tuition/fees

Since local board of trustees set tuition and fee rates, they vary accordingly to institutional need.  In FY 2002-03, in-district tuition rates ranged from $47.50 to $64.00 a semester credit hour with one-year changes from 0% to 10.9% for the same period.  In 2001-02, revenue sources included:

New ideas/approaches that your governors/legislators proposed or plan to propose for the upcoming year:

The Governor proposes a new Great Lakes Scholarship program.  Selected sixth graders are promised a full two-year tuition and fee grant if they successfully complete high school and achieve an average score on the Michigan Education Assessment Program.  The program is funded by contributions from the business and labor community into a trust fund. 

For further information, please check our Web site at http://www.michigancc.net.

Attachment:  "The Impact of Michigan Community Colleges, February 2003"

James Folkening
Director, Postsecondary Services

The National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges is an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).  The council provides a forum for the exchange of information about developments, trends, and problems in state systems of community colleges.  

Through our affiliation with AACC, we also strive to affect national legislation that impacts our colleges and state agencies.

This is the only Council that represents the collective interest of state agencies and state boards of community colleges.  This council is a valuable forum to help state directors deal with the changes in attitude and policies towards community colleges at the international, federal, state and local levels.  We will share information and learn lessons from each other to better serve the interests of our institutions in the coming years.

Detailed Information