since the economic difficulties of the 1980s and 1990s, community colleges have had to reconcile limited resources with open door admissions policies and a broad institutional mission. College budgets have not generally increased sufficiently to compensate for rising costs, with state-level financial support for higher education falling by 9.5% to…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. It reviews the need to better manage higher education expenses in light of budget cuts and reductions in appropriations and other public services. It is noted that tuition, although increasing, has been increasing at a slower rate since 1981. Also, faculty salaries have not…