Source: Education Dive
State per-student spending on higher education is rebounding, though it is only halfway back to its pre-recession levels, according to a new report from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). Just nine states are back to pre-recession funding levels, while nine have had no recovery. Colleges have relied on tuition for a growing share of their revenue over the past decade, the report found. In 2018, however, net tuition revenue didn’t rise, suggesting that colleges’ reliance on this funding source may be leveling. The flattening of tuition revenue suggests public colleges and universities are responding to market pressure on price growth, the SHEEO report notes. Still, “heavy reliance on tuition revenue has become the new norm for how state higher education system are funded,” SHEEO President Robert Anderson said in a news release. Some state budgets are proposing tuition freezes or limits on increases in exchange for more access to public funds.