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Quality Remains, Despite State Cuts
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MARCH 12, 2004 -- Despite an $8 million drop in state appropriations, quality is holding its own at Michigan Tech, according to the university's president, Curt Tompkins.
Tompkins testified before the state Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education today.
"Nationally, we rank second only to Georgia Tech among public technological universities, according to US News & World Report," he said. He also pointed out that four of the university's engineering departments rank in the top 15 in the country, in terms of the number of degrees awarded.
Tompkins noted that enrollment increased this year, despite large tuition increases imposed after a 15 percent cut from the state in the last 18 months. But he also raised concerns about what future cuts might to do to service levels.
"The number of tenured and tenure track faculty positions has been reduced by nearly 5 percent since fiscal year 2002 as a result of budget reductions," Tompkins said. "We have had to increase the size of many lecture sections and, in some courses, reduce the frequency from twice a year to once a year," he said.
He also told subcommittee members that faculty and non-union staff received 5 percent pay cuts this year.
Tompkins said Michigan Tech continues to have a solid reputation with businesses, noting that the university leads all state universities and ranks tenth nationally in the proportion of research funded by industry.
He also noted that Michigan Tech ranks second among state universities in the ratio of federal research expenditures to state appropriations.
Michigan Tech (www.mtu.edu) is ranked among the top 50 public universities in the country by U.S. News and World Report. The university has one of the largest engineering programs in the country and offers quality programs in the sciences, business, communications, and forestry and environmental sciences. |
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