By Catherine Brown, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy
Reading time: Two minutes
Today, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) is releasing the latest addition to its State Policy Resource Center: a policy brief on the importance of increased state investments in higher education to put college within reach for students from low-income families.
This report builds on our state financial aid issue brief series and discusses the need to increase state funding to grow college access and attainment for students from
low-income families.
At $108 billion nationally, higher education is the third largest portion of state budgets. While generous, targeted, and transparent state financial aid systems are crucial for college affordability, financial aid makes up only a small portion of state support for higher education. The vast majority, 89%, of state funding for higher education is provided through operational support for public community colleges and B.A.-granting institutions.
Unfortunately, funding for public colleges has not kept pace with inflation. After the Great Recession in 2008, most states cut funding for higher education significantly. 10 years later, state higher education funding nationally was still below pre-recession levels, eclipsing pre-recession levels only in 2022. State disinvestment and resulting tuition increases mean that the proportion of higher education
costs borne by students has increased over time. While the average student share of the cost of college was 20.9% in 1980, it was 41.7% by 2022.
The good news here is that is that there is a clear takeaway for NCAN members working at the state level to increase college access and attainment: advocate for more funding for public colleges! Small percentage increases translate to a lot of money!
These investments increase students’ likelihood of attending college and their lifetime earnings after graduation and benefit state economies. Research also demonstrates that state investments are associated with improvements in instructional quality
and support services that increase the likelihood that students will graduate, especially at two-year institutions.
This report includes three case studies showing how the policy choices of states of various sizes and from different regions have impacted student outcomes like: enrollment and completion, debt levels, and students’ likelihood of remaining in-state for
college and after graduation. Lastly, this brief provides recommendations for policymakers and considerations for advocates when tough choices must be made due to budget constraints.
You can also check out it’s companion reports, our how-to guide on building coalitions, and explore our advocacy resources for learning and inspiration on how you can drive change in your state. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me,
Catherine Brown, or NCAN’s Policy Associate, Louisa Woodhouse, for more information or to get involved in our policy and advocacy work.
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