Postsecondary Education Spending Priorities for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Policy Advisory to State Fiscal Policymakers
| Title: | Postsecondary Education Spending Priorities for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Policy Advisory to State Fiscal Policymakers |
| Author: | Callan, Patrick M. Jones, Dennis P. Wellman, Jane |
| Date: | 2009 |
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| Price: | FREE |
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| Description: |
The Funding Crisis in Higher Education:
The collision between constrained public funding and the need to increase postsecondary access and degree attainment is by now well documented. The problem stems from structural pressure on state budgets, growing dependency on tuition revenues that harm access and opportunity, and institutional cost structures that require unsustainable funding increases.
The postsecondary funding gap has been growing in most states for some time, and is reaching crisis proportions with the economic collapse of 2008-2009. The economic crisis will push higher education in understandable but predictable directions—tuition increases, cutbacks in enrollments, and rollbacks in programs designed to reduce attainment gaps and increase degree production.
While states and institutions are facing difficult times, this crisis cannot be construed as a reason to abridge historic commitments to affordability, access, and investment in instructional improvements needed to meet future needs for educational attainment.
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