Dive Summary:
- An annual survey by researchers at Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers shows that state spending on higher education was down only 0.4% from the previous year, and 30 states actually raised their appropriations for colleges and financial aid in the current fiscal year that began last July 1, with increases ranging from 0.1% in New Mexico to 14% in Wyoming.
- In fiscal year 2011-12, state spending on higher education fell 7.5% over all, and the over all decline in this year's budgets was the result of bigger cuts in large states like Florida, where lawmakers cut higher education spending by 8%.
- Higher education spending fell about 11% over all since 2008, with all but 12 states making cuts and some states, like Arizona, reducing their higher ed spending by as much as 37%.
From the article:
After falling nearly 11 percent since the 2008 fiscal year, state appropriations for higher education are on the rise in most states. But the long-term effects of budget cuts stemming from the economic downturn still could take years to erase, according to an annual survey. ...