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When states cut spending on higher education, it's not just a matter of colleges doing more with less.

The consequences appear to go much further.

The long decline in state funding for higher education -- lasting a couple of decades or more in some states -- appears to have caused or accelerated some major changes in how some state-run colleges and universities function, judging from what I've been reading and hearing over the past year.

The trend is so strong it has caused CFOs of public colleges and universities to rank declining state funding as, in the words of the 

"far and away the most worrisome factor facing their institutions."

Below is a list I've made of the developments that appear to be linked to that rollback.

 proposed cutting hundreds of millions of dollars -- up to a billion dollars in California's case -- from higher-education funding. For some -- such as California and Minnesota -- 2011's final cut reportedly represents the largest in their histories. Many proposals ranged from 10-20 percent (see chart), and in another dozen states or so, proposed cuts 

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The size of the actual cuts varies from system to system and even school to school, but news reports show cuts in the following states:

It's not just a one-off. In many cases, this year's cuts are part of a 10-15-year trend in which states have been scaling back their commitment to funding higher education. Just last year,

 state support per student hit a 25-year low,

 according to Paul Lingenfelter of the State Higher Education Executive Officers.

The great rollback in California has prompted University of California Chancellor Mark Yudof to remark

Tuition is the traditional way for public schools to make up for cuts in state funding. So as state spending has increased, tuition has steadily risen. Some states have reported year after year of increases that have caused tuition to double in some states. (See sidebar)

. Ohio cut need-based grants the most: 66%. Alaska and Michigan: 50%. Hawaii and Utah: 33%. Cuts or freezes have also been proposed in Arkansas, Florida, New Mexico and Tennessee. 

 has cut back on its often generous (often full-ride) Promise Scholarship. Georgia's HOPE Scholarship, a full ride for all high school students earning a B, 

Colleges and universities are courting more students across state lines because the schools can charge them more -- 

two to three times more than in-state students

have started recruiting more or have announced they'll do so. Out-of-state students account for 18 percent of admissions at the University of

California system, compared to 12 percent two years ago. At UCLA and Berkeley, that figure is about 30%.

At the University of Colorado - Boulder, for example, one professor writes that because a third of the students come from out of state,

 "the result is that almost two-thirds of the university's total tuition revenue comes from one-third of its students."

It's not just other states' universities that students are seeking out. Some students once headed for public universities are setting their sights on privates. 

President Brian Rosenberg has written that he's getting students who need the

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Tuition will vary from college to college and even program to program, so here's a sampling of some of the tuition increases seen in various states:

college's more generous financial aid policy, or just want to get away from 

"larger classes, fewer faculty members, and declining graduation rates at the publics."

And some California students, tired of struggling to get the classes they need in pared-back programs, are 

looking at private colleges despite their higher expense. 

Pressured to provide education to more students despite the limited number of seats, universities in 

, for example, are considering charging those who have enough credits to graduate (but don't) more per credit than other students. The higher cost of further classes is suppose to prompt them to graduate, though it could be costly for students who are finding themselves, or have changed their majors late in the game.

With less money to spend on teaching staff, universities are

 -- part-time, usually with no benefits -- because they're a cheaper alternative to tenured faculty. A college can cover three to four times the number of classes with adjuncts than with tenured faculty, one Texas professor has estimated, and Governor Branstad of Iowa recently announced it was a budget-saving measure his state was taking.

A decade ago, a third of all faculty were adjuncts.

 One estimate puts it about fifty percent now.

 It's at least 60 percent at community colleges -- which had only 20 percent on average 40 years ago. It's not necessarily just a college-by-college choice, either. Texas tried last year to 

replace some tenured faculty with adjuncts.

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"Almost two-thirds of the university's total tuition revenue comes from one-third of its students."

Education News

On Campus Blog

Alex Friedrich

Author

When states cut spending on higher education, it’s not just a matter of colleges doing more with less. The consequences appear to go much further. The long decline in state funding for higher education — lasting a couple of decades or more in some states — appears to have caused or accelerated some major changes…

10 consequences of state cuts to public higher education

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