Public Higher Education Funding Budget Drivers

The justification for government spending on public universities is to promote the competition for higher skilled jobs. In a free market, most people wouldn't be able to afford the training and education required for higher skilled jobs, and more companies would seek to outsource the low skill jobs. This causes a surge in unemployment and a growing wage gap, so the government must step in and provide incentives and benefits to the general population.

Increased tuitions are results of a variety of factors. Shrinkage of state budget and low endowments cause by the recession forcing colleges to make up the cost somehow (Lee). The government has increased their support during the recession. For example, in the form of Pell Grants which doubled over the years. Andrew Kelly, director of the Center on Higher Education Reform at the American Enterprise Institute, writes “... the increase of federal spending has been completely eroded by the rising tuition prices”(Bidwell). Higher tuition defeats the purpose of the federal government increasing their support.

From inception, public institutions have been primarily funded by the state they reside in. In the last couple of decades state funding of higher education has dropped significantly, with a dramatic drop during the recession that started around 2008. The drop in funding has pushed an additional loan burden onto students, and has forced universities to re-evaluate and change how they operate. Aside from making cuts, universities have become more creative in generating different sources of revenue.

The state of California has long been reliant on the University of California system to provide its resident companies with skilled and educated business, technology, and science leaders. Highly regarded as one of the top educational systems in the world, the University of California boasts a high number of distinguished and respected faculty members in almost every field of study. However, while most private colleges and universities have learned how to streamline their processes in order to better respond to stakeholder needs, public educational institutions, such as the University of California, have not been willing to control their bureaucratic growth resulting in a rise of tuition rates and a decline in the level of student satisfaction. In her article for the TIME magazine, Kate Pickert writes that as recently as November of this year the University of California has approved a plan that could raise tuition rates by up to 28% (Pickert). Pickert also points out that the tuition rates at the University of California have more than tripled since 2001. The University of California has blamed the increased tuition on the state of California budget cuts caused by the economic downturn of recent years. However, a closer examination of the University of California faculty and administration data makes it obvious that the higher rates of tuition are cause by the inability and

“College Prices Soar Again!” “Budget Cuts Cause Even Higher Tuition!” “Higher Education Now Even Less Affordable” These are all statements that have been seen all over the media: newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. (3 SV: SV) Rising college tuition in America has been a problem for years. Many students drop out after a single year due to the pricey costs of tuition. The rapid rise can be attributed to many aspects of the economy, not just a single source. There have also been some propositions of how costs could be lowered, but these have yet to be seen. The United States has gone into a tuition crisis.

The National Conference of State Legislatures said, “School budget crunches have been a trend over the past couple years and span the entire nation” (qtd. in Van

Although 2010 was not by definition, a recession year, it certainly felt like one. The growth of the economy was stifled, unemployment was stagnated at a little less than ten percent and interest rates and inflation were at near depression levels by year’s end. The state of the economy unequivocally influences tax collections and budgets, which in turn determines the financial prosperity of higher education, especially in the public sector. The two main sources of revenue for public colleges and universities are state appropriations and tuition. Generally, as cuts to higher education appropriations occur, campuses respond by boosting tuitions even higher. Yet, regardless of the size of the budget cuts, college and university tuitions

Community Colleges were developed with the purpose of providing an affordable and accessible education. By providing students with both academic and learning skills, community colleges continue to remain an essential part of today’s society. Throughout the years, community colleges have continued to develop and transform to provide resources to meet the needs of their students. As new community colleges began to develop, it is critical that they are aware of the political issues that community colleges face. For this assignment, I will discuss the University of District of Columbia Community College and its governance. In addition, I will provide information on federal and local government involvement, leadership structure, political culture, student demographics, and community groups. Lastly, I will provide recommendations on how to address the issue of governance.

America’s community colleges are highly valuable for many reasons. They enrich the lives of students by raising their lifetime incomes and helping them achieve their individual potential. They benefit American businesses by increasing consumer spending and supplying a steady flow of qualified, trained workers into the workforce. They benefit society as a whole by improving the economy and providing a variety of savings through the improved lifestyles of students. They benefit federal, state, and local governments through increased tax revenues across the U.S. and a reduced demand for government-supported services. Obama’s plan to make community college more accessible is a great investment in America’s future.

A surging $1.2 trillion in student debt and rising rapidly in tuition is the critical issue America public universities face today. These student debts and rising tuitions are caused mainly by administrative hiring and pay or expensive building projects on campuses. When public universities are spending money toward expensive building projects, this does not help with making tuition cheap to attend a certain university, instead it’s high.

The purpose of this research paper is to explore the altered missions of community colleges and related impacts on the historical mission of community colleges. The mission of community colleges were intended to serve all individuals with an equal opportunity for higher education access. In this research paper, there will be four guided questions:

Public education is under funded, especially in the state of Alabama. I attended public school in the state of Alabama and I experienced this first hand in my elementary and high school classrooms. Low funds for the arts department and many basic school necessities are just some of the areas that are affected by the low funding. In the 2012-2013 school years, Alabama had over 744,637 students enrolled in a total of 1,637 schools. Alabama’s school funding has gone down 14% since 2008. Many school systems have to spend additional money from local revenue on top of what the state provides because it is not enough. Alabama public schools are under funded and it is a problem that is affecting classrooms across the

The article that I picked is from U.S News & World Report, it is written by ‘Robert Mendenhall’ and the title is ‘Change is Critical to the Future of Higher Education’. Robert Mendenhall is the president of ‘Western Governors University’ and also serves as a member of its board of trustees. The article is about how the future of higher education in the U.S is uncertain and that change is critical. In his article he talks about several key factors that require major change, in order to improve higher education. He says, “I am asked all the time about what I see for the future of higher education. Unfortunately, I think it will look a lot like it does today, because most institutions are resistant to any real change. Nevertheless,

The purpose of this report is to inform the chancellor of the issue surrounding higher education. The issue of higher education is that it’s failing to give millions of student’s quality degrees at a reasonable cost. College costs and student debt have been rising for the past years and it continues to rise. States don’t invest enough in schools to make colleges more affordable which leads to an increase of tuition cost and student loans.

What informs the decisions trustees make? What public purposes guide the president, faculty and staff in their daily activities? How would the trustees and the public know that the institution’s resources are strategically arrayed to achieve the goals? Colleges and faculty can too easily be accused of being knee-jerk protectors of the status quo. A robust, shared, operating vision for the college helps to make clear how the public interest, not personal interests, determine the steps that the college