State Funding for Higher Education

Examining Differences in State Support for Higher Education: A Comparative Study of State Appropriations for Research I Universities

“…The following sections present the methods and findings for the quantitative phase of the study. Hearn and Griswold (1994) and Hossler et al (1997) pointed out the difficulty of using bivariate techniques to explain complicated phenomena such as postsecondary education policy innovation and state support for higher education. In sum, the authors showed that these outcomes are determined by a host of interrelated social, political, bureaucratic, and economic factors, making it difficult to separate them by using bivariate methods.…”

“…Similarly, the effects of institutional strategies cannot be considered in a strict application of the regression analysis. As other authors have suggested, relying on the regression model alone places limits on understanding the complete landscape of differences in state support for higher education, and in this case, research universities (Hearn & Griswold, 1994;Hossler et al, 1997).…”

“…In particular, Layzell and Lyddon (1990), Gold (1990), Hearn and Griswold (1994), and Hossler, Lund, Ramin, Westfall, and Irish (1997) shed light on the complex array of economic, social, political, bureaucratic, and cultural factors that collectively play a role in determining levels of state support for higher education. 1 As we have suggested, the economy is a key determinant of state spending for discretionary programs such as higher education.…”

“…But beyond the economic forecast in a state, tradition and past appropriation levels are among the most compelling predictors of future support for higher education in a particular state (Layzell & Lyddon, 1990). Formed by a mix of social, political, bureaucratic, and cultural variables, these traditions also shape policy development and collectively determine the extent to which states will support higher education (Hearn & Griswold, 1994;Hossler et al, 1997).…”

Assessing the Connection Between Higher Education Policy and Performance

“…dominates the landscape of state policy research as scholars have taken a particular interest examining need-based and merit-based state aid programs (St. John, Musoba, & Simmons, 2003), loans and grants (Hauptman, 1997), and the effects of different types of aid on different populations (Heller, 1999). Some efforts have examined state funding in general (Callan & Finney, 1997), and a few have concentrated on the effects of state appropriations on enrollments (Hossler, Lund, Ramin, Westfall, & Irish, 1997). Others, such as Robst (2001), have looked at how reductions in state appropriations affected institutional efficiency.…”