Many states are passing "free" college plans, and policymakers at both the state and federal level continue to debate the merits of national "free college" or "debt-free college" proposals, also known as Promise programs. Both federal and state "free" college proposals are geared toward a policy objective of…

A policy analysis of Florida's 10-factor Performance-Based Funding system for state universities. The focus of the article is on the system of performance metrics developed by the state Board of Governors and their impact on institutions and their missions. The paper also discusses problems and issues with the metrics, their ongoing evolution, and…

The 2009-10 operating budget for the North Dakota University System is over $1 billion. Approximately 29 percent of operations are supported by the state general fund. The remainder of the operations of the University System are self-supporting through tuition and fees, room and board charges paid by students, and private and federal research…

Universities are organized to assume uninterrupted growth in enrollments and endowments, steady public funding, an annual ability to inflict tuition hikes on students and their families, everlasting degree programs, vast building operations and permanent commitments to a senior professoriate. Lacking an agile and responsive governance structure,…

Community colleges across the nation appear to be facing a "perfect storm" during which surging enrollments, tepid state funding, and strong accountability forces are colliding to severely threaten access to and completion of postsecondary education and credentials by lower-skilled and low-income students. In the last few years, record enrollments…

While open access is still possible at community colleges and state colleges in Florida through the Florida College System, and the numbers of those enrolling are increasing, retention of first generation students is still an issue. Florida has increased the opportunity to attend college by limiting the barrier that inadequate financial support…

The 2007-08 operating budget for the North Dakota University System is over $960 million. Approximately 28 percent of operations are supported by the state general fund. The remainder of the operations of the University System are self-supporting through tuition and fees, room and board charges paid by students, and private and federal research…

With the total price tag of a bachelor's degree from a top-tier U.S. college or university hovering around $150,000, even some of the most highly sought-after high school graduates are turning down universities like Yale and Stanford in favor of more economical options--community colleges. Skyrocketing tuitions and anti-affirmative action…

This task force report to the Association of Colleges and Universities of the State of New York appraises present anxieties and suggests that higher education in New York must speak with one voice supporting efforts to maintain funding and low tuition and efforts to narrow public-private tuition gaps. (JT)

This report examines trends in resources available, past funding policies, and the need for a funding policy for Virginia public higher education that can minimize the impact of peaks and troughs of economic cycles. It reviews trends from 1988-89 to 2003-04 by: identifying primary revenue sources of higher education, examining institutional…

This publication presents papers from an invitational seminar, the case for Low-Tuition Public Higher Education, February 1974 and other useful documents on the same subject. Topics cover some introductory perspectives on low tuition; financing higher education; an analysis of recent tuition policy recommendations; equity and the middle class; a…

The plight of private colleges that cannot pass inflation on to the taxpayer as the public institutions can is discussed. A proposal is presented that the four-year public sector be redefined as one that receives not more than a 50-percent tax subsidy. (MLW)

In November 1999, Governor Bob Taft requested that the Board of Regents annually produce a performance report for Ohio's state-supported colleges and universities. This year's report has been redesigned to improve its readability. This document is a small sampling of the 2003 Performance Report. This issue demonstrates the kind of useful…

Our understanding of the funding of public junior colleges prior to 1940 has been strongly influenced by the ideology of current scholars. A close reading of the historical record reveals that early junior colleges were rarely subsidized by states. Rather, their costs were met by approximately equal contributions of local tax revenue and unaided…

This report contains the final recommendations of the Michigan Senate Select Committee on Higher Education on tuition policy at Michigan public colleges and universities. The report presents its findings and recommendations in three large parts. The first section contains the final recommendations of the Committee including goals of affordability…