LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Michigan’s public universities collectively have the sixth-highest in-state tuition rates in the country, averaging $11,991, according to a new report.

The study issued Tuesday by the Michigan League for Public Policy – a Lansing-based advocacy group for the poor – links rising tuition and student debt to decreased state higher education funding and state financial aid.

It says Michigan has cut university funding by more than $262 million since 2003, a 30 percent drop after adjusting for inflation.

The report says Michigan has the ninth-highest average student debt in the nation, and federal Pell Grants do not cover as much tuition as in the past.

Sixty-two percent of Michigan college students graduated with debt in 2014; their average debt was nearly $30,000.