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Stateline.org recently called this recession the worst in 50 years for state budgets. As has been the case in past economic downturns, higher education looks to be particularly hard hit. Funds from the American Recovery and Relief Act may have postponed some of the difficulty for many colleges and universities, but the outlook for public higher education in the country is grim.
State student financial aid programs have been especially affected. These programs, while smaller than federal and institutional aid programs, provide crucial resources for students, both by providing access to postsecondary education and by allowing students to attend the institution of their choice. And many of the largest such programs in the country have suffered from drastic cutbacks.
William R. Doyle is an assistant professor of higher education at Vanderbilt University. He previously served as a senior policy analyst at the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, where he was project director for the center's first publication of Measuring Up, the state-by-state report card on higher education.
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