Strengthening the Partnership: A Survey of Proposed Higher Education Funding Solutions

By Ben Barrett. By 2020, the state of Colorado is on track to have completely withdrawn every dollar of public support from its higher education system. Current budget battles in Louisiana could mean a similar, more immediate fate for the more than 30 public institutions in the state. While these two examples are some of the most extreme, over the last decade especially, many states across the nation have shirked their responsibility to adequately fund public higher education with disastrous consequences for students and families. From 1996 to 2012, the share of college costs covered by states dropped from about 40 percent to just over a quarter for dependent students. More...