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State support for higher ed ticked up 2.9% in fiscal 2020, report finds

May 26, 2021

Higher ed appropriations per FTE student increased in 41 states and Washington, D.C. in fiscal 2020. Despite a steady increase in state support, inflation-adjusted appropriations are still 6% below levels seen in 2008.

States have been recovering at different rates. Eighteen states had higher ed appropriations in 2020 that were at or above their 2008 levels, up from nine the year before.

But in 12 states, public support for colleges lags the amount they had during the Great Recession by at least 20%. That includes Arizona, where appropriations have dropped nearly 43% since 2008, and Oklahoma, where they have fallen almost 39%.

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