Money is a big issue on college campuses like Grand Valley State University, especially when it comes to state appropriation.

Currently, GVSU comes second in the Michigan resident undergraduate headcount, with 20,243 students. We are ranked only under Michigan State, which has 30,391 students. However, GVSU still receives the lowest amount of state appropriation per student.

The university has proven its merit by exhibiting exemplary graduation rates, employment rates and a continually growing student population. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in his address to university administrators on GVSU’s Pew Campus Oct. 7 that one of the goals behind public university funding is to make state appropriation less political and more merit-based, a system that GVSU has no problem with demonstrating competency in.

According to the 2014-2015 Accountability Report, GVSU is ranked third in graduation rates in the state, at 70 percent. This is just behind the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, and 89.9 percent of those graduates are employed or in graduate school. We have also been named one of the “Best Universities in the Midwest” by the Princeton Review, one of America’s top colleges by Forbes magazine, and recently, the Seidman College of Business was named a best business school by the Princeton Review.

As Snyder explained during his presentation on campus, funding for public universities is based off a six-year graduation rate, total number of degrees, administrative efficiency and total number of Pell grants students receive. These are all elements that GVSU works hard to maintain and improve upon. This is an effort that should be rewarded with funding to help improve these efforts.

However, GVSU’s appropriations lag behind the Lakers’ stellar performance record. GVSU has the second-lowest state appropriation per student in the state, ahead of only Oakland University.

Snyder said that he was pushing for the state to begin reinvesting in its public universities, and they should start doing so from the bottom-up. The fact that GVSU is the second largest institution in the state and receives the lowest amount of funding is neither fair nor sensible when looking at the success of the university as of late.

Gov. Snyder speaking on campus and addressing the issue is a start, but GVSU needs more than pretty words. We need aggressive action at the state legislative level, and it needs to be an immediate priority for the governor. GVSU is expanding exponentially, and the state funding simply isn’t keeping up with the rate of growth at the university.

Gov. Snyder, it’s time to reward GVSU and its students for all of their successes. This is one education gap that cannot continue to exist.