From SHEEO: Stimulus Helped But State Schools In Trouble

SCUP–45 has NASBA CPEs for CPAs!

SHEEO, the State Higher Education Executive Officers organization, has released its State Higher Education Finance FY2009 report. We have four pertinent links for you:

• A story about it by Eric Kelderman from The Chronicle of Higher Education, titled Enrollment Growth Amid Recession Creates Long-Term Challenges for States;
• A story about it by Jack Stripling from Inside Higher Ed, titled Fading Stimulus Saved Colleges;
• The SHEEO press release covering the report; and
• The official SHEEO web page with links to all versions of the report.

From Stripling: "As enrollments soared and state dollars dried up, the temporary fix of federal stimulus money staved off significant financial losses for higher education that are still yet to be fully realized."

From Kelderman: "[S]tates will have a harder time restoring spending on higher education after this downturn than they have in past recessions. Per-student state appropriations have generally recovered after past recessions, but the current economic situation presents greater hurdles"

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

AASCU: Top 10 Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities provides an annual report each year on the top 10 issues relating to policies of the states and higher education. The introduction this year notes what it calls "two contradictory movements" in 2009, in that at the same time as President Obama moved higher education near the top of his federal agenda, most of the policy and budget action was on coping with the effects of some pretty serious funding cuts.

Number 1 on AASCU's list is the financial crisis of the states. Number 2 is the federal American Graduation Initiative. Number 3 is tuition policy and prices. Number 4 is enrollment capacity. Numbers 6 through 10 include: State student aid programs, Federal focus on community colleges, Statewide expansion of data systems and new reporting metrics, Veterans' issues, college readiness, and Teacher effectiveness.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

States Collect Information on Students, Report Says, but Don't Use It Enough

The DQC's website is useful, including a set of resources on ARRA funding resources that can be used for data-related activities. "Since 2005, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has supported state development of longitudinal data systems that provide policymakers with information to create and adjust policies and practices to improve student achievement." The DQC conducts an annual survey about what student data states are collecting, and how they are using it, then matches the states' actions to its own 10 Essential Elements. The results of that survey are available on its website. Here is a brief item in The Chronicle of Higher Education by Eric Kelderman titled "States Collect Information on Students, Report Says, but Don't Use It Enough."

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

Economic Hits + Stimilus Funds, State by State: How Do They Add Up?

This graphic from The New York Times could hold your attention for hours.

Who's Getting Money from the State and Why? How?

Scott Jaschik reports on two new studies, each of which aims to understand the how and why of state funding for institutions. Does lobbying work? Apparently so. Who's in the best position? Apparently, campuses located in proximity to a state capitol with democratic control.

"Two new studies suggest that strategy may go only so far and that, in some respects, public universities are like real estate: They benefit from location, location, location. The best locations may be in states led by Democrats (and with other political conditions) and in cities in or near statehouses. The studies don't contest the way research universities receive more per student than do other kinds of institutions, although they suggest that in states with a flagship and multiple research universities, flagship status may be less important than believed, and that research universities tend to be favored."

Read the full article here:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/10/approps

Stimulus Money Helps Colleges Avoid Slashing Budgets Now, but Big Cuts May Loom

Yes, the stimulus funds are helping, but few expect state budgets to be in much better shape after that money runs out. So, what happens in 2011? "We have a lot of administrators who are talking about retiring by 2012; they don't want to go through whatever's coming."

"This year was bleak for state higher-education budgets. But college leaders are even more worried about what comes next.

The billions of dollars in federal stimulus aid to plug shortfalls in state education budgets have helped limit the damage this year, but the money hasn't prevented all of the cuts to college budgets. Most states are spending the bulk of the stimulus money they are receiving for education on elementary and secondary schools, and roughly 20 percent on public colleges. In one state, Wisconsin, none of that federal aid is going to higher education.

And the situation could get worse. Many states are spending all of their education stimulus money to fill gaps in the current and next budget years, leaving nothing for 2011, when many of their economies are still expected to be suffering from the recession.'

Read the full article here:
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i39/39a02501.htm

The Challenge to States: Preserving College Access and Affordability in a Time of Crisis

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This quick-fire SCUP–44 session, The College Funding Crisis: Five Ways Planning Can Help, will present five areas where financial, academic, and physical planning can make a major difference, and will highlight opportunities for leadership, middle management, and faculty to turn the economic downturn to advantage. Be sure to be there in Portland, July 18–22 for Values and Vision Create the Future.

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This statement (PDF) was developed with the guidance of a distinguished group of higher education leaders whose names you will realize. It's a dense, 2-page document that you should definitely read and have available as a reference. Under "Productivity,"the bullet points begin thus:

Develop measurable expectations for productivity increases by all institutions, and strategies for reinvesting the resulting savings in efforts to maintain and expand undergraduate access and affordability, particularly for low- and middle-income students. Institutions can meet productivity expectations by such measures as: Increasing teaching loads for full-time faculty; Freezing or reducing graduate and professional enrollments; Streamlining administrative functions; Incorporating technology into instruction; and Closing low-demand, high-cost programs that are not distinguished and cannot be justified by economic or labor market needs. Require institutions and systems to begin or continue reporting data on the performance of all undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs (costs, enrollments, degree attainment levels, and completion and attrition rates), and develop plans to increase the productivity of or suspend support for low-performing programs that are not strategically required for the future. Reduce student demands on the system by expanding dual enrollment and other accelerated learning options, assuring course availability for on-time completion, and by limiting credit requirements for degree programs and accumulation of excess credits. Review state policies and regulations in areas such as procurement, human resources, and information technology, revamping or eliminating policies and procedures when cost exceeds benefit.

Some States Get Stimulus Whether They Need or Want It

Somehow, just somehow, we doubt that even a single governor will turn down the stimulus money. Anyone want to bet? :) This article illustrates the unevenness of the fiscal landscape from state to state and discusses some potential alignment issues between where the money will go and where it is needed:

Close to three-quarters of the money in the stabilization fund is designated for states to funnel to public colleges and school districts, which could use the money in various ways, including to restore budget cuts, prevent layoffs, or modernize facilities. The rest of the money in the bill will be given to governors to allocate to high-priority needs, which could include construction money for public or private colleges, and to the secretary of education to reward performance. President Obama is expected to sign the $787-billion stimulus plan on Tuesday.

The federal stimulus money that will be spent in states that are not facing a severe economic crisis could still play an important role in reducing unemployment rates if, for instance, the money from the stabilization fund were to be spent on modernizing college or school facilities, thus creating construction jobs. It could also help lessen the effects on colleges and schools of any budget cuts states might have to make down the road if their economic situations worsen.

NCEF's 'School Facilities Planning and Design Guidelines - State and Local'

The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities publishes a wide-ranging series of annotated references and links to useful resources. The annotations are collected in dozens (or more) sets of topically linked domains. Although the NCEF has a mandate to cover K–12 facilities, it also has a number of sets of resources relating specifically to higher education. This partifular resource is for both, and quite useful: "NCEF's resource list of links, books, and journal articles with examples of guidelines and regulations published by states, counties, and municipalities regarding school facility planning, design, and maintenance."

NCHEMS Information Center for State Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis

This Web resource from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems provides access to quite a bit of useful data, special analyses, and other resources. It includes a interactive Generate Your Own Data & Maps functionality that you may find useful.

The mission of the NCHEMS Information Center for State Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis (The Information Center) is to provide state policymakers and analysts timely and accurate data and information that are useful in making sound higher education policy decisions. Through the work of a small staff and the operation of a website, the Information Center is the only comprehensive "one-stop-shop" for state-level higher education data and information, and a leader in coordinating activities and securing funds for the collection of missing data and information that are crucial for higher education policy analysis.

The States and Their Community Colleges

Every state offers community colleges as the first rung on the ladder of higher education. They prepare students for four-year colleges, educate key professions like nursing and firefighting, offer job training and basic skills, and bolster economic development. A new Education Policy Brief from the Rockefeller Institute finds that the 50 states differ widely in the extent to which they use their community college systems: "So the differences in the use that states make of their community colleges are clear - but the causes are not. And because these differences matter, there is a clear challenge for community college leaders, policymakers and researchers to dig deep enough to explain the differences, and to help states make better use of this dynamic and growing force in education."

Top 10 State Policy Issues for Higher Education in 2008

From our friends at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU): "What lies ahead for 2008? Presented here are the top 10 state issues most likely to be at the forefront of discussion and action that will affect public higher education across the 50 states, in the view of the state policy analysis and research staff at AASCU. While numerous topics shape state higher education policy, each affecting the issues of affordability and quality, our focus is on the overarching issue of college access. This synopsis is informed by an environmental scan of state policy activities of the past year, trend analysis, and events that will continue to shape the policy landscape. Some issues are perennial in nature, while others reflect attention to near-term actions in state policy and public discourse. The influence of any given issue across individual states will, of course, vary."