National Access and Finance Surveys
In partnership with the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges and the American Association of Community Colleges, The National Access and Finance Surveys were initiated by EPC Director Katsinas while at the University of North Texas in 2003 and transferred to UA’s Education Policy Center in 2005. Nationally recognized higher education experts review each year’s survey instrument. This dynamic partnership has resulted in at least 49 of 51 possible state-level responses each year over the past decade.
EPC research has documented that the long-term decline in state funding for public higher education began two decades before the 1998 academic year, the first to be documented by the Delta Cost Project (2010). In FY1980-81, 16 states provided 60% or more of total revenues for their community colleges; by 2000-2001, none did. In FY1980-81, 55% of U.S. community college students attended in one of the 22 states where the state invested 50% or more of the total revenues for their community colleges; by FY2000-01, it was just 8% in 7 states. Our annual National Access and Finance Surveys continue to document this decline: in 2003, 34 of 46 states reported mid-year cuts in state appropriations; in 2010, 34 of 48 did so.
The National Access and Finance Surveys are not strictly about community colleges. Rather, they are an annual national assessment of access and funding issues for all public higher education sectors — flagship universities, regional universities, and community colleges. Our surveys provide a 35,000-foot view of access and finance in the fifty states. Variations in appropriations by higher education sector were larger before the Great Recession than today. Our surveys emphatically show the “high tuition/high aid” model doesn’t work, because states do not match tuition increases with increased state student aid in bad economic times. That states increasingly treat all three public higher sectors the same in both bad times and good, speaks to the need for public higher education to speak with one voice across all three sectors. Public higher education must be involved in helping state leaders with solutions to the significant public policy issues that drive state finances.
The years prior to 2008 saw steady increases in operating budgets. But following the Great Recession, finances have worsened. Our 2013 report, Halfway Out of Recession, But a Long Way to Go, found 14 states failed to appropriate operating budget funds at or above the predicted inflation rate, while 2014’s Recovery Continues, But Competition is Fierce found that 31 states failed to do so. Special sections center on key issues facing higher education leaders including facilities, workforce training in the Great Recession, Pell Grants, and college completion. Our February 2015 report was one of the first nationally to document a decline in the nation’s community college completion rates. That so few states have long-term plans for the operating and capital budgets needed to expand college degree completion speaks to the perilous conditions facing American public higher education. The chart below shows that just two states raised operating budgets each year since the Great Recession at or above the inflation rate – five failed to do so a single time. Cuts in state funding means boards of trustees must either raise tuition, cut programs, or both.
EPC research has documented that the long-term decline in state funding for public higher education began two decades before the 1998 academic year, the first to be documented by the Delta Cost Project (2010). In FY1980-81, 16 states provided 60% or more of total revenues for their community colleges; by 2000-2001, none did. In FY1980-81, 55% of U.S. community college students attended in one of the 22 states where the state invested 50% or more of the total revenues for their community colleges; by FY2000-01, it was just 8% in 7 states. Our annual National Access and Finance Surveys continue to document this decline: in 2003, 34 of 46 states reported mid-year cuts in state appropriations; in 2010, 34 of 48 did so.
The National Access and Finance Surveys are not strictly about community colleges. Rather, they are an annual national assessment of access and funding issues for all public higher education sectors — flagship universities, regional universities, and community colleges. Our surveys provide a 35,000-foot view of access and finance in the fifty states. Variations in appropriations by higher education sector were larger before the Great Recession than today. Our surveys emphatically show the “high tuition/high aid” model doesn’t work, because states do not match tuition increases with increased state student aid in bad economic times. That states increasingly treat all three public higher sectors the same in both bad times and good, speaks to the need for public higher education to speak with one voice across all three sectors. Public higher education must be involved in helping state leaders with solutions to the significant public policy issues that drive state finances.
The years prior to 2008 saw steady increases in operating budgets. But following the Great Recession, finances have worsened. Our 2013 report, Halfway Out of Recession, But a Long Way to Go, found 14 states failed to appropriate operating budget funds at or above the predicted inflation rate, while 2014’s Recovery Continues, But Competition is Fierce found that 31 states failed to do so. Special sections center on key issues facing higher education leaders including facilities, workforce training in the Great Recession, Pell Grants, and college completion. Our February 2015 report was one of the first nationally to document a decline in the nation’s community college completion rates. That so few states have long-term plans for the operating and capital budgets needed to expand college degree completion speaks to the perilous conditions facing American public higher education. The chart below shows that just two states raised operating budgets each year since the Great Recession at or above the inflation rate – five failed to do so a single time. Cuts in state funding means boards of trustees must either raise tuition, cut programs, or both.
Emerging from COVID-19:
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COVID-19, CARES, and Public Higher Education in 2020-2021 and Beyond:
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After the Great Recession:
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Access and Funding in Higher Education -
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Challenging Success:
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Uncertain Recovery:
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Funding and Access Issues
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Funding Issues in U.S. Community Colleges:
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Funding Issues in U.S. Community Colleges:
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