A recent report by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and a smattering of national press outlets are calling attention to the dilemma presented by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds in higher education. Without these 11th-hour rescue funds from the federal government, many state legislatures would have had to have cut more deeply into higher education funding. With ARRA funds quickly running out and a difficult election year ahead for Congress, it is unlikely that federal support for higher education can continue.

The NCSL report highlighted the often drastic decrease from Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 to FY 2010 among states’ funding of higher education, even with ARRA funding included. Washington, for example, increased appropriations for higher education by 0.5% in FY 2009, but decreased overall funding by 7.6% in FY 2010. Without the ARRA funding, Washington higher education cuts would have equaled 12.1%.  Even with the federal requirement that states keep higher education funding at or above 2006 levels in order to qualify for help, the effect of the recession on institutions was grim.

Because of its unique relationship with state legislatures, public higher education has historically experienced amplified results of economic conditions. When state revenues are robust, leaders often invest heavily in higher education. Conversely, when budget deficits strike, public higher education is seen as having in tuition what no other state agency has – its own revenue stream. Called upon in times of hardship to increase tuition in a bid to make up for lost revenues, higher education administrators have, according to U.S. News and World Report, “little choice but to impose hefty tuition increases or reduce the number of classes and services offered on campus.” So far, administrators during this recession have opted for the former, keeping academic services in tact while calling on students and families to begin shouldering the majority of their public educational costs. With national per-student funding stagnated at a low of $6,928 (the lowest in constant dollars since FY 1980), the concept of a “public” education is quickly fading along with state revenues.

With most public colleges in the nation forecasted to face further hardships during the upcoming fiscal year, it is likely that tuition increases, faculty and staff layoffs, and decreasing enrollments will characterize the next chapter in public higher education. Any potential recourse must be tempered with less ambitious sentiments than those heralded by President Obama, who set a goal of having the world’s highest proportion of college graduates. According to Jim Palmer, the editor of Grapevine quoted in a recent USA Today story on the subject, “Our aspirations for higher education have outpaced our funding systems.”