Even as states restore some funding that was cut in recent years, their support for higher education remains well below pre-recession levels, straining college affordability — especially for students whose families struggle to make ends meet.
Many public two- and four-year colleges and universities avoided significant tuition increases for the second year in a row, as most states continued to replenish higher education support. Still, 13 states further cut funding in the past year. And in almost all states, higher education support remains below what it was in 2008, just before the most recent recession.
These cuts led to steep tuition increases that threaten to put college out of reach for more students. They also raise concerns about diminishing the quality of education at a time when a highly educated workforce is more crucial than ever to the nation’s economic future.
