With tax revenues beginning to rebound in most states and endowments on the rebound at many private and public institutions, colleges and universities are growing more hopeful about their financial outlook and instituting new strategies to take advantage of the opportunities. Yet as the economic recovery has slowed in the past few months,…

When California approved its budget last month, the community-college system managed to escape the sharp budget cuts that befell most other agencies. But the state's fiscal troubles have nonetheless created a cash crisis for two-year colleges. As part of its plan to close a $41-billion budget deficit, California will delay providing $540-million…

Economic news today is filled with discussion about whether the United States has entered a recession. For the author and other presidents of public colleges and universities, whether the downturn can be labeled a recession is far less important than dealing with the effects of economic conditions on institutions. During hard times, both public…

High-school seniors have only until May 1 to decide where they will go to college. While it is still too soon to tell if widespread predictions that seniors will flock to lower-cost institutions were accurate, two new surveys and conversations with guidance counselors suggest that the economic situation is indeed playing a large role in students'…

An analysis of spending trends that is designed to discourage policy makers' focus on finding new revenue rather than reining in spending suggests that the model for financing colleges has reinforced educational inequities and failed to increase the rate at which students graduate. According to the analysis, "serious fault lines" in the current…

Figuring out how to pay for college is a common challenge for many students across the country. But in Pennsylvania, where tuition at public two- and four-year institutions is among the highest in the country, state officials are revisiting a topic that has long frustrated students and officials alike. This article reports that with the meltdown…

Community colleges in nearly half of the states will probably face midyear reductions in their appropriations, according to a survey of members of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges. The study paints a bleak picture of a widening fiscal crisis among state governments, which started in the most recent budget year and is…

This article reports that as students flock to public two-year and four-year colleges amid an ailing economy, they find the colleges struggling with financial problems of their own. Midyear budget cuts are forcing many institutions to lay off faculty members, cut course sections, and freeze enrollment. Rising unemployment, slumping values of…

When NetJets, a private aviation company, announced it would keep and expand its operational headquarters in Ohio, Richard T. Santulli, chairman and chief executive, didn't give credit to tax breaks or any of the other incentives states and cities typically use to woo or retain corporations. Instead, he said the critical factor was the state's…

Since 2003, more than 40 athletics programs have joined the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) ranks. Membership now represents about 500 colleges, and Wayne Baker, the group's executive director, expects to keep adding colleges. Membership in the association began declining slightly in the early 1990s, as private two-year…

For more than half a century, the lucrative Detroit automobile industry drove Michigan's economy, providing the state with plenty of tax revenue to support its public colleges and universities. In recent years, however, the woes of the Big Three auto companies have caused state spending to plummet, resulting in cuts or minimal increases in the…

College and university presidents are increasingly called upon to make informed choices about technology. The rapidly shifting landscape makes it tough to keep up with change and innovation, let alone stay ahead of the curve. In this article, the authors discuss 10 trends to watch in campus technology. These trends are the following: (1) increased…

This article discusses how federal and state governments can improve student access to private and public higher education institutions. Florida helps to achieve that with a common course-numbering system across community and four-year colleges, which permits students to easily transfer credits. Both the Senate and the House of Delegates in…

Minnesota's large-scale restructuring of public higher education in July 1995 created a 45-institution system that has recently experienced further consolidation of 18 community and technical colleges into ten. Other changes include decentralization, downsizing, and changes in support services. Proposal of another merger has created concern that…

In a period of rapid enrollment growth, cities in which University of California campuses reside are waging a noisy campaign to demand an end to campus expansion, either by adding a campus or keeping enrollments down. The university remains committed to offering a place to all qualifying students. (MSE)