Dive Brief:
- The American Association of State Colleges and Universities provides a list of the states which are projecting new investment, and others cutting funding to public colleges and universities nationwide.
- Arkansas and Colorado are outliers as states looking to increase funding to institutions, while 11 other states have already projected budget cuts to address deficits ranging from $12 million in Kansas to $9 billion in Illinois.
- Many states are experiencing deficits as a result of reduced tax revenues from income, sales and natural resources mining.
Dive Insight:
The industrial and tax revenue reductions, in addition to healthcare and pension costs, are driving public higher education more towards a tuition-dependent privatized model. When this is added to the reality of more students requiring more financial aid to meet rising costs, the outlook is desperate for many institutions, but particularly smaller schools with niche missions.
Enrollment management strategies, partnerships with secondary school systems and private corporations are going to be the future keys to funding and revenue creation for schools without major branding power or legislative influence.