The Michigan Legislature passed a 2024-25 general fund and education omnibus budget June 27, allocating a modest increase for the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus’ operations and significant investments in the university’s economic development and innovation efforts, as well as firearm injury prevention and safety.
The spending plan now goes to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and could be signed later this summer.
The FY ’25 budget totals $82.5 billion, including a general fund total of $15 billion and a school aid budget total of $19 billion. The $23.4 billion higher education budget includes a 1.5% ongoing and a 1% one-time increase for university and community college operations.
“This budget reflects a continued advance in higher education funding,” said Chris Kolb, vice president for government relations. “An increase in our core funding, coupled with additional targeted investments, help to bolster the University of Michigan’s efforts in key areas such as firearm injury prevention and economic development. Increased investment in financial aid also makes a U-M degree more accessible to more of our state’s students.
“These funds enhance our research capabilities and will drive innovation and economic growth across our state. We look forward to continuing our partnership with state leaders to provide greater opportunity for our students, advance scientific research and create a more prosperous and safer future for all Michiganders.”
Under the spending plan, the Ann Arbor campus will receive a total appropriation of $365.6 million, a 2.6% increase from last year. UM-Dearborn will receive $32 million or 2.6% increase. UM-Flint will receive $26.9 million or a 2.1% increase.
The full appropriations are contingent on in-state undergraduate tuition increases of no more than 4.5% or $703, whichever is greater. Tuition increases for 2024-25 on all three campuses are below that level.
The Michigan Legislature also agreed to allocate an additional $30 million to increase funding for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, the state’s flagship scholarship program, providing a pathway to community college, tuition guaranteed.
Changes to the MAS are significant for public universities, as students will now be able to apply the scholarship to the full cost of attendance, not just tuition and fees.
U-M will likely see a 42% increase in MAS awards, rising from $5.8 million to $8.3 million per cohort, culminating in $16.6 million in total awards across two eligible cohorts of students.
The increase would bring total funding for the scholarship program to $300 million for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention
Furthering the state’s efforts to enact common sense gun-violence-prevention laws and to quell gun violence, $5.5 million is allocated in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services budget to U-M’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention.
Since its inception, the institute has served as a resource for the state — sharing information and resources on new laws, providing training and technical assistance on effective policy implementation and conducting evaluations to ensure the state’s laws are having the intended effect of reducing firearm injury and death in Michigan.
The funds for IFIP will support community program training and technical assistance efforts, data collection about fatal and non-fatal firearm injuries in the state, as well as the infrastructure support of the state’s new safe gun storage laws and Red Flag laws — which allow law enforcement and loved ones to petition a court to temporarily prevent someone from accessing guns if they are at an elevated risk of harming themselves or others.
“Firearm violence is a critical public health issue as demonstrated by the recent surgeon general’s report and Gov. Whitmer’s newly announced state task force to address the ongoing crisis,” said Patrick Carter, IFIP co-director.
“As an academic community, we have a responsibility to use our expertise to help address society’s most pressing challenges, and we are only able to carry out such efforts through the support of our partners, like the state of Michigan. We are grateful for this funding as it will help our teams to better support the implementation of evidence-based solutions across Michigan, ultimately preventing injury and saving lives.”
Additional U-M support
To support Michigan-based start-ups and innovation, the spending plan allotted $60 million to the Michigan Innovation Fund, which will provide incentives to nonprofit organizations that manage evergreen venture funds investing in early-stage startup companies operating in the state that are commercializing competitive edge technologies.
As part of the Michigan Innovation Fund, an allocation of approximately $10 million is expected to go toward the Accelerate Blue Fund, which invests in startups that have a license to commercialize U-M technologies and is managed by Innovation Partnerships.
“By investing in Michigan-grown companies, we look forward to seeing positive economic impacts as these startups complete key business milestones and accelerate their growth,” said Kelly Sexton, U-M associate vice president for research – innovation partnerships and economic impact.
Survival Flight, Michigan Medicine’s critical care transport program that provides rapid and safe transport of critically ill and injured patients, was also allocated $5 million.
