Michigan Democrats developing college grant plan

Published: Thursday, January 12, 2012, 12:04 AM     Updated: Thursday, January 12, 2012, 12:09 AM

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Democrats in the Michigan Senate said Wednesday they're developing a proposal that would allow Michigan high school graduates to get grants of up to roughly $9,500 a year for attending college by ending some business tax credits and other revenue changes.

The grants could be used to pay tuition or associated costs at public universities and community colleges in the state. The money would be raised by closing what Democrats call tax loopholes and ending some business tax credits, collecting sales tax from out-of-state Internet retailers and saving money on state contracts.

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, the Senate's Democratic leader, said investment in education is needed to revitalize Michigan and boost its economy. State aid for public education has dwindled in recent years, with universities facing a 15 percent reduction in state aid for operations in the current fiscal year. Universities say reduced state aid is a major factor contributing to tuition increases.

Domestic partners sue Snyder, state over law prohibiting providing health insurance

By David Ashenfelter

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Jan 6, 2012

Gerardo Ascheri says he thought he had escaped repression when he emigrated from Argentina to the U.S. in 1987 and eventually became an American citizen.
But the 54-year-old self-employed East Lansing music teacher said things changed Dec. 22 when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation that immediately prohibits certain public employers from providing health insurance and other benefits to domestic partners.

"It comes as a shock to me that all of a sudden, I am again a second-class citizen," a tearful Ascheri said at a news conference Thursday in Detroit where the American Civil Liberties Union announced the filing of a federal lawsuit against Snyder and the state to strike down the law.

Thanks to Snyder and the Legislature, Ascheri said he no longer qualifies for health coverage through his long-term partner, Doak Bloss, Ingham County's health equity and social justice coordinator.

Community college in Michigan ramps up tenure-track faculty [1]
Submitted by Paul Fain [2] on December 20, 2011 - 3:00am

Delta College, a two-year institution located in Michigan, has moved to make all of its full-time faculty positions either tenured or tenure-track. That means about 55 instructors at Delta have the option of replacing their one-year renewable contracts with tenure-track status.

The decision bucks a trend toward the hiring of adjunct professors and keeping them off the tenure track, at community colleges and across most of higher education. And the conversion of existing positions to tenured, as opposed to just hiring new professors, is considered the Holy Grail for adjunct advocates.

Public universities question why they, not lawmakers, are protesters' target [1]

Submitted by Kevin Kiley [2] on December 9, 2011 - 3:00am

Their voices have gone hoarse. They’ve broken windows and clashed with police officers. They’ve faced pepper spray and attracted national news attention. The story is the same across the country – students, upset about tuition hikes, are protesting.

And while the images might last, the message has not had much impact on the what colleges are charging. At California State University at Long Beach, where hundreds of students joined by union members engaged in a raucous protest that disrupted a meeting of the California State University Board of Trustees, the trustees still approved [3] a 9 percent tuition increase for the system.

In New York, where City University of New York students were joined by protesters from Occupy Wall Street and other universities on a national day of higher education protest, the university’s board still voted to increase tuition [4] $300 a year through 2015.