New report details the impact of cuts to Higher Education
A strong workforce cannot be achieved without adequate state support for higher education. Yet, as our new policy brief shows, the state’s contribution to higher education has been on the decline, and is facing further cuts over the next two years:
- Due to diminished state support over the last decade, students are now paying over half of higher education costs at four-year public institutions.
- In the last two years alone there have been $770 million in cuts to the higher education system. As one of the many consequences of these cuts, it is estimated that 22,000 students who qualified for financial aid were unable to obtain assistance.
- As lawmakers battle with a budget deficit that has grown to $5.1 billion for the next biennium, they are proposing to cut higher education funding by $500 million or more.
If Washington is going to be successful in securing our long-term economic prosperity, we must keep the economic engine of our higher education system running. Doing so requires that policymakers take a balanced and responsible approach to the state budget – one that preserves vital public services through tax increases, the elimination of tax breaks, or both.
Read the entire report here.
