The Office of Financial Planning & Budget, Institutional Research, and Institutional Space Planning and Management are collectively charged with collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information about MSU. This page contains links to information that is relevant to the campus community and public in general.
Consistent with MSU's commitment to transparency, and in response to the Public Transparency Website Requirement, find comprehensive institutional information across a broad array of operational areas here.
A single location for the general public, faculty, staff, and students to explore MSU facts, figures, and insights related to students, faculty, staff, instruction, research, finance, peer comparisons, and more.
Aggregated data on faculty, staff, students, student credit hours, class size, research, budget, expenditure, and space metrics is also available in this interface. Users can also select specific years, units, and variables using the University Metric Tools Excel workbook.
Michigan State University is the nation’s premier land-grant university and one of the top research universities in the world. The university’s excellence, cultivated over a 170-year history, is rooted in the core values of its land-grant heritage in advancing knowledge, conducting research of the highest caliber, and advancing outreach, engagement, and economic activities.
MSU has maintained a strong financial foundation supporting our long-term financial health and sustainability. Our institution's priorities center around the people who contribute to its success – our students, faculty, and staff. We are dedicated to providing quality education, conducting impactful research, and engaging in outreach efforts to ensure that Michigan State University grows stronger each day.
As a public institution, state appropriations provide a significant portion of the university's revenue, helping to cover essential expenses such as faculty salaries, academic programs, and facility maintenance. Fluctuations in state appropriations can have a profound impact on MSU's budgetary stability and planning.
At the core of MSU’s land-grant values is a commitment to remain at the best possible intersection of value and quality. It is MSU’s intention to ensure that students receive the best educational value for their tuition dollars.
Committed to making higher education accessible, MSU has made significant investments in financial aid. In the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget, MSU has committed to invest $418 million in student financial aid — an increase of $7 million over the previous year budget, highlighting MSU’s commitment to investing in student success.
In these challenging times, MSU intends to ensure that students receive the best educational value for their tuition dollars. This includes programs such as the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Program, which provides financial assistance to high-achieving Michigan students pursuing higher education. It is a significant investment in public colleges and universities, improving access to affordable higher education for Michiganders.
Thanks to our community's collective commitment to student success, MSU increased overall graduation rates seven years in a row to 82 percent as of 2023 graduation year. In accordance with the 2030 strategic plan, student success is the measure of an institution’s ability to provide an inclusive, equitable curriculum and environment with the academic, social, wellness, and financial support that enables all students to learn, thrive, persist, graduate, and succeed after graduation.
MSU’s most significant investment — and most important asset — is the more than 12,000 exceptionally talented faculty and staff, who are the core of the Spartan community. MSU’s budget recognizes that our talented staff and faculty underpin the success of our students, and it advances our strategic priority of creating a best-in-class workplace culture and environment. Two-thirds of the university’s operating budget supports salaries, wages, and employee benefits each year. MSU employees, including student employees, are central to our university's various complex operations and functions: they ensure our university continues running smoothly.
Within the last few years, the university expanded options for paid time off by adding two new personal observance days, a formalized university winter break (three days per calendar year) and added Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday observance for faculty and staff. The decision to expand our previous university holiday practices demonstrates a more significant commitment to our employees’ well-being and encourages better work-life integration.
Additionally, beginning in 2023, every benefit-eligible current employee and new hire became immediately eligible to enroll in the 403(b) Base with voluntary participation. This change increases equity across our workforce, benefiting employee categories, including fixed-term specialists and research associates.
Michigan State University's Department of Police and Public Safety (MSU DPPS) recently centralized its safety and security operations into one unit, the MSU Security Operations Center. This center provides 24/7 monitoring capabilities, oversees 2,000 campus-wide security cameras, and manages electronic control access to buildings. MSU DPPS has made progress on various safety improvements, including forming the Proactive Engagement and Community Enhancement Team (PEACE) in partnership with the East Lansing Police Department.
MSU will use the findings of the Know More Campus Climate Survey specifically related to Relational Violence and Sexual Misconduct (RVSM) to inform its effort to continually improve campus culture and related policies and procedures. The Know More @ MSU Campus Survey efforts are informing MSU’s RVSM Strategic Plan and its related initiatives, which include expanding trauma-informed services; building a trauma-informed culture; strengthening RVSM policy violation, sanction, and discipline processes; assessing resources and support for respondents; strengthening RVSM prevention programming; creating respectful work environments; and promoting accountability. We are committed to building on these efforts and creating solutions for a safer, more secure, and more supportive university. Additionally, Laura Rugless was hired as the new Vice President for the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX, effective July 2023.
During FY 2023, MSU recruited Dr. Alexis Travis as the Assistant Provost and Executive Director for University Health and Wellbeing. The new organization brought together 11 departments focused on supporting faculty, staff, and student health and wellbeing.
For any questions, please contact budget@msu.edu