Critics of the idea that universities are important to 21st Century economic development tools have a line...

"Once you get off the football field, how do you know if a university has had a good year?"

Well, Michigan's fastest-growing university, Grand Valley State, has just developed an emphatic answer to that question.

GVSU's brand-new Accountability Report offers 43 pages of all kinds of indicators for what kind of year -- better yet, decade -- they're having. Consider, for example:

This simple report cost roughly $5,000 in staff time and printing to produce, GVSU officials tell the Center for Michigan. At that cost, every university in the state should provide such annual report cards.

The Center is a consistent friend to universities. We've often argued that it's unsustainable to spend, as Michigan does, more on prisons than it does on universities. And we've trumpeted the belief that universities and their research are important economic engines for Michigan's future.

But we've also called for greater accountability to assure that every tax dollar headed to campus is well-spent. To that end, every university in Michigan should go even further than GVSU's excellent report and release, in an easy-to-read format, additional annual metrics to the Legislature, the media, and tuition-paying students and parents. Such consumer-friendly metrics could include:

Of course, it's easier to produce such accountability reports when your numbers shine (as GVSU's often do). Right now, all Michigan universities report a wide array of stats to both the state and federal governments. But it would take the average taxpaying parent many hours in front of spreadsheets to make any sense of the obscure numbers compiled in difficult, bureaucratic formats.

The state Legislature could change all that. Simple Accountability reports could be a requirement before state appropriations are released to universities each year. Even simpler, Legislators could request that the veteran budget and policy experts at the House Fiscal Agency and Senate Fiscal Agency replicate and expand upon GVSU's excellent accountability report.