After trailing the national average for five years, funding per student at public colleges and universities in Wisconsin overtook it in 2021. State and local tax and tuition funding per student dropped nationally after adjusting for inflation and rose in Wisconsin, though it remains lower for four-year campuses in Wisconsin. The state's colleges…

The article is an analysis which focuses on the years after the Great Recession, to show the interplay between federal and state policies. The first year after American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) federal stimulus funds ended, Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, coincided with new federal Pell Grant eligibility restrictions. State appropriations for…

California's public higher education system has catapulted the state into global leadership such that, the state is the 5th largest economy in the world today. A bachelor's degree, in particular, provides unrivaled economic and health benefits for the individual earning the degree and for the state. To better understand how California's public…

In recent years a number of colleges and universities have explored alternative strategies for developing operating budgets. In part this exploration was driven by the desire for transparency among various constituent groups and the need to tie budgeting to campus strategic planning. With the advent of declining federal and state support, along…

Since the Spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of billions of people worldwide. Seemingly overnight, colleges and universities transitioned their entire operations online. There is no playbook for how to best respond to this global pandemic. While it is virtually impossible to predict the lasting impact that COVID-19 will…

This dissertation is a qualitative study includes documents analysis and interviews. The study focus is applying entrepreneurial theory to funding public higher education in the U.S. The critical portion of the dissertation focuses on the best practices they have implemented to practice academic entrepreneurialism. The literature review takes a…

One of the main ways that states provide opportunities to people and build a strong economy is by making education affordable to everyone. Ohio provides need-based aid to students pursuing postsecondary education through a program called the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG). This is essential to helping students from low-income backgrounds…

The rising price of a year in college looms large on the American political landscape. Calls to make college free, or at least debt free, will figure prominently in policy and political debates going forward. To make sense of this debate, an understanding of the forces that have been driving the price of a year in postsecondary education upward…

This publication is an overview of Higher Education in California to provide readers with a deeper understanding about how the public systems work. The primer outlines the mission, enrollment, cost of attendance, and governance and funding structure of each of California's public higher education systems. This resource also provides critical facts…

Michigan's public colleges and universities have become steadily less affordable over the past two decades, mirroring a national trend where state funding of public higher education has not kept pace with costs, leading to increased tuition and fees. States continually assess their higher education tuition and other policies in comparison to their…

Most discussions of college prices and of students' and families' ability to pay those prices focus exclusively on tuition and fees. This focus sometimes leads to policy recommendations that aim to eliminate tuition and fees without providing additional resources for students from low-income households to buy books and supplies and cover their…

On January 14, 2019, Mike DeWine was sworn in as Ohio's 70th governor. Jon Husted joined Governor DeWine and received the oath of office as Ohio's Lieutenant Governor. From the very beginning, Governor DeWine requested that his Cabinet listen carefully to the people of the state and then proceed to act with a sense of urgency to change Ohio.…

Nebraska's constitution and state statutes require Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (the Commission) to review the budget requests of the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska State College System, and the community colleges in light of specific criteria set forth in the statutes. The Commission also makes…

Discussions about college affordability often revolve around helping students pay their tuition and fees. But nontuition expenses, including food, housing, and other living expenses, make up a large portion of student budgets and contribute to increased student debt. These expenses can be a barrier to student enrollment and completion. Lack of…

This publication is an overview of Higher Education in California to provide readers with a deeper understanding about how the public systems work. The primer outlines the mission, enrollment, cost of attendance, and governance and funding structure of each of California's public higher education systems. This resource also provides critical facts…