Michigan Association of State Universities

What Michigan Association of State Universities does

Michigan Association of State Universities (MASU) is a Michigan-based non-profit association serving as the statutory coordinating board for the state's 15 public universities, including Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Lake Superior State University, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Northern Michigan University, Oakland University, Saginaw Valley State University, the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint), Wayne State University, and Western Michigan University. MASU's primary function is collective advocacy and policy coordination with the Governor's office, the state legislature, and agencies such as the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP), grounded in the constitutional autonomy of public universities under Article VIII, Section 5 of the Michigan Constitution.

Its core "products" are services rather than software: legislative priority development, an annual Public Policy Agenda, enrollment/tuition/economic-impact research publications, a Metrics That Matter accountability dashboard, a committee directory infrastructure spanning 21 functional areas (academic affairs, financial aid, admissions, registrars, career services, etc.), and student-facing resources including the Michigan Transfer Network course equivalency platform, financial aid listings, free tuition program directories, and veteran services. Communication channels include the OPtimizing EDucation blog, the weekly This Week newsletter, the monthly Stewardship newsletter, press releases, and public policy reports. The Get MI Degree sub-brand operates as a statewide marketing campaign targeting prospective high school students.

MASU's revenue mechanics derive from membership dues paid by the 15 public university members and state appropriations tied to its coordinating-board function. The organization operates with a lean staff of approximately 3-5 employees led by CEO Daniel J. Hurley and Chief Policy Officer Mia Murphy, headquartered at 101 S. Washington Square, Suite 600, Lansing, Michigan. Distribution is achieved through direct government-relations engagement with state actors, member-institution committee networks, and a self-serve web portal for committee access. Quantifiable reach spans nearly 260,000 students annually and a reported $45 billion in annual net economic activity across the member system.

Name

Michigan Association of State Universities

Legal name

Michigan Association of State Universities

Website

https://www.masu.org/

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Michigan Association of State Universities is a Lansing, Michigan-based non-profit coordinating board that provides advocacy, policy development, research, and accountability reporting for the state's 15 public universities, engaging with the Governor, legislature, and state agencies on higher-education funding and policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Advocacy Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Affairs Administration (Curriculum, Scheduling, Academic Policy) (EDADAKAB)

Keywords

• Higher education advocacy
• Public university coordination
• Policy research
• Legislative advocacy
• Higher education association

Headquarters

HQ city

Lansing

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The organization coordinates 15 public universities as its member institutions, with revenues derived from membership contributions and state appropriations for coordinating board activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MASU serves as the coordinating board for Michigan's 15 public universities, providing advocacy and fostering policy to maximize the collective value these institutions provide. The organization engages directly with state legislators, the Governor's office, and state agencies on higher education funding and policy priorities, while also producing research reports, accountability dashboards, and student success programs such as MiTransfer and financial aid resources.

Product overview

The Michigan Association of State Universities (MASU) is a coordinating board for Michigan's 15 public universities that provides higher education advocacy, policy development, and institutional coordination services. MASU does not offer a traditional software product but rather delivers services through advocacy coordination, policy research publications, committee directories, student success programs, and accountability reporting tools. The organization publishes research reports, manages committee directories across university functions, provides student resources including financial aid and transfer information, and maintains an accountability dashboard tracking institutional metrics. MASU also produces editorial content through its OPtimizing EDucation blog and Stewardship newsletter to inform stakeholders about higher education issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Get MI Degree: Statewide marketing campaign to increase college going rates among Michigan high school students

Products and services

• Metrics That Matter (Accountability Dashboard) A dashboard tracking commonly used data points about Michigan's public universities including higher education finance indicators, institutional indicators, and state educational attainment metrics, made available to member institutions and stakeholders.
• MASU Research Reports and Studies Collection of research including Enrollment Reports, Tuition and Fees Reports, Economic Impact Reports, and MASU Studies documenting the impact and performance of Michigan's 15 public universities.
• Student Success Programs Programs including MiTransfer (course equivalency network), Financial Aid resources, Free Tuition Programs directory, and Veteran Services/Veteran Resources offered across all 15 member universities for prospective and current students.
• MASU Higher Education Public Policy Agenda A comprehensive policy framework covering college affordability, capital outlay, student success, K-12 alignment, workforce development, community college partnerships, campus safety, academic governance, and institutional governing board authority.

Quantifiable outcome

• Michigan's public universities generate nearly $45 billion in annual net economic activity and support more than 129,000 jobs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew state department launched in 2024 that MASU and its 15 member universities are collaborating with on policy and programmatic initiatives to address opportunities, challenges, and needs facing the state.
• Michigan Transfer NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWebsite allowing users to view transfer course equivalencies between Michigan colleges and universities, providing students and academic advisors information about transferring and easy identification of course-to-course transfer credit equivalencies.
• Community Colleges and Private Colleges in MichigancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnerships with community colleges and private nonprofit institutions for transfer student success, degree pathways, and articulation agreements. In 2020, there were 1,530 different partnerships including off-site bachelor's degree programs and articulation agreements.
• Statewide Transfer Steering Committee (TSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoluntary collaboration among public universities, community colleges, and independent nonprofit colleges overseeing degree pathways initiative and replacement of institution-to-institution articulation agreements with statewide degree pathways.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU): National association representing state colleges and universities, functioning as a federal-level analogue to MASU. AASCU performs the same kind of coordinated advocacy, policy research, and public policy agenda development for its member institutions that MASU does for Michigan's 15 publics.
• State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO): National membership organization of state-level higher education executive officers and coordinating/governing board leaders. SHEEO's coordinating board governance role is directly comparable to MASU's role as the coordinating board for Michigan's 15 public universities.
• Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU): National research and advocacy organization for public universities and land-grant institutions, with several MASU members (Michigan State, Michigan Tech, University of Michigan) in its ranks. APLU performs similar collective advocacy, policy research, and federal funding lobbying on behalf of public universities.
• National Association of System Heads (NASH): Membership organization for leaders of state public university systems and multi-campus coordinating bodies. NASH is the most structurally analogous organization to MASU, given MASU's role as the coordinating board for a multi-campus public university system.

Broad incumbents

• American Council on Education (ACE): Broader higher education advocacy organization representing all sectors (public, private nonprofit, for-profit) at the federal level. ACE's advocacy scope and federal focus make it a broader incumbent peer to MASU's state-level public university advocacy role.
• Association of American Universities (AAU): Invited membership association of leading U.S. public and private research universities, including the University of Michigan and Michigan State. AAU's research-intensive focus and federal advocacy on R&D funding overlap with portions of MASU's higher education policy agenda.

Regional players

• Michigan Community College Association: Michigan-based state association for community colleges that advocates for the community college sector with the state legislature. As a parallel Michigan higher education coordinating body covering a complementary segment, it is a directly comparable regional peer.
• Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities: State-level association representing Michigan's private nonprofit colleges and universities, performing advocacy and policy coordination analogous to MASU but for the independent sector. Operates in the same Michigan higher education policy ecosystem.
• Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC): Regional interstate compact working on collaborative higher education programs across Midwestern states, including tuition reciprocity and shared programs. MHEC provides a regional governance analogue to MASU's state-level coordinating role for member institutions.

Emerging players

• Complete College America: Nonprofit focused on increasing postsecondary credential completion rates, working with state higher education systems and coordinating boards like MASU on student success initiatives. Overlaps with MASU's transfer pathways, financial aid, and student success program portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/masumichigan
• Facebookfacebook.com/Get-MI-Degree-493295987811198

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Michigan Association of State Universities