More students than ever are headed to college, but the funds to support them are not following.
Total state fiscal support for higher education nationwide declined by 7.6 percent from fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2012, according to the annual Grapevine survey from the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University, a joint project with the State Higher Education Executive Officers.
Losing $6 billion translated into fewer course offerings and larger class sizes for students. State universities also used more adjunct faculty, froze hiring, and merged academic departments.
The cuts occurred in 41 states, ranging from 1 percent in North Carolina and Indiana to 41 percent in New Hampshire.
The reason: the slow economic recovery and the end of federal stimulus money.
