The Michigan legislature might finally be on to something.

As the suits in Lansing begin establishing the executive budget for the 2013 fiscal year, cash-strapped public universities might finally feel some relief from the legislature as they explore new funding models that would make state appropriation less enrollment-based and more performance-focused. If the Michigan legislature follows through with its plans and establishes a new funding model that looks at performance over enrollment — factoring in graduation rates, production of highly-paid majors and Pell Grant recipients — GVSU could find itself in a much better place come 2013.

As the system currently stands, the funding for public universities in Michigan is awarded per-pupil according to outdated student enrollment figures, and therein lies the problem. Grand Valley State University, for example, has seen a 44.4 percent rise in enrollment over the last 10 years — the most dramatic increase out of any of Michigan’s 15 public universities. Despite the boom in enrollment, it’s somehow only managed to decrease in state funding to its current status as the lowest-funded public university in Michigan, with only $2,365 per student in government appropriations.

Legislators have been asking universities to do more with less, even going as far as to penalize universities that raised tuition by more than 7 percent for the 2011-12 academic year with lower funding, but have yet to actually reward those who heed the call. Despite its low funding, GVSU has the fourth-highest six-year graduation rate of the 15 Michigan public universities at 61.1 percent, and GVSU President Thomas J. Haas’ accountability report shows that GVSU’s nursing program, which Gov. Rick Snyder identified as a key growth area for the state, has a 100 percent pass rate for graduates and a 93 percent pass rate for undergraduates.

The most successful universities in the state are innovating, making do with less and keeping graduates employed in the state (84 percent for GVSU alumni), and those are the qualities that the state should be recognizing.

GVSU is in a unique position — as a still-budding university, the per-pupil equation neglects to account for rapid growth, and the funding needed to accommodate that growth. Low funding has prevented the university from hiring additional faculty members to teach popular courses and limited GVSU to 123 square feet of non-living center buildings per student, half of the state average, former VP of Development Maribeth Wardrop told students in a presentation last semester.

If the Michigan government wants to see college graduates succeeding in a less-than booming job market, then it only makes sense for the state to support its institutions in a way that is conducive to growth and quality education. Giving larger universities more money per student just because they’re bigger makes as much sense as giving a massive check to Warren Buffet just because he’s rich. If Michigan wants to attract young people to the region and retain its graduates, revamping the current higher education funding system to reward quality over quantity is an important first step.