Michigan college students:

August is underway and that means friends are moving into their first apartments in Ann Arbor and Mt. Pleasant, parents are taking their sons and daughters to back-to-school sales in East Lansing and Grand Rapids, and freshmen are finalizing their first classes in Marquette and Kalamazoo. All across our state, this is a time when students should be excited for the start of another year at Michigan's top-notch colleges and universities. But, instead, recent spikes in college tuition rates have left Michigan families worried about how they're going to afford school and still keep gas in their tanks and food on the table. Many of you are just plain mad.

You should be. And I am, too.

As a parent, I'm mad about the dent these tuition hikes will put in our pocketbooks. Like many of you, my own daughter is starting college this fall. The dramatic rise in tuition and fees was an unwelcome surprise for our family and, most likely, for yours.

When you're opening your tuition bill in the coming weeks, it might seem easy to blame your school for the sharp increase. But the real problem is in Lansing. Michigan is in the middle of an urgent budget crisis and, so far, our legislature has failed to act.

During my State of the State speech in February, I highlighted the need for increased investment in higher education to avoid tuition increases and instructed the legislature to work fast in passing a comprehensive mix of revenues, cuts, and reforms to put our fiscal house in order. That was February. It is now August. During the last seven months, colleges have been left wondering whether or not the state will fulfill the promises we made to increase funding for our schools. Due to their uncertainty, they had no choice but to plan for the worst and raise tuition to all-time highs.

Experts tell us over and over that increasing college enrollment is absolutely essential to Michigan's economic recovery. By going to college, you're helping yourself by paving the way to a good job and you're helping your state become competitive in the race for attracting 21st Century jobs.

My administration has fought hard to increase investment in higher education to record levels, to expand scholarships and grants for incoming freshman, and to create the Michigan Promise scholarship, which gives every student in our state $4,000 to attend one of our colleges, universities or technical schools. We've done all this to work towards our goal of doubling the number of college graduates in Michigan. But, during this time when we should see the number of students increasing, this recent round of tuition hikes threatens to thin the ranks at our colleges and universities.

I will continue to work with our colleges and universities to reduce the tuition burden for students. But the bottom line is this: we cannot fix this situation until the legislature does their job and passes a budget that invests in higher education.

So, I'm asking for your help. Demand swift action from your elected officials. I'll continue to urge the legislature to pass a bill that resolves our budget crisis and protects investment for Michigan's colleges and universities, but I cannot do this alone. I need you to stand with me and join in this fight. If we work together, we can ensure that a bright future is within reach for students across the state.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Granholm
Governor of Michigan