MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont has ranked at or near the bottom of the states in public funding for its major research university for decades, and now a national group warns other states are heading in the same direction.

But University of Vermont officials are questioning a key statistic released Tuesday by the National Science Board, saying per-student public funding for UVM by the Legislature might look extra low because it’s being spread out over what’s recently been a fast-growing student body.