An Analysis of Institution Local Taxes, Geography, and Size on Public Higher Education Revenue from 1990-91 to 2020-21

State appropriations for public higher education have a significant impact on institutions, the students, and communities they serve. Federal policies are broad and wide-reaching, but institutions are more sensitive to appropriation changes at the state level. Rising costs limit access to higher education for lower income students who need it most. State higher education funding is often first to get cut before Medicaid, K-12 education, or Corrections funding. This is especially the case during economic down turns especially during recession. Scholars have conducted studies that indicate declining funding trends over time by reviewing state appropriations but do not include institutional level data that review operating budgets or tuition and fees. Institutional level data allows for more accurate examination of the impact of changes. One scholar estimated that state tax effort for higher education would reach zero by 2057 when accounting for data from 1980 to 2019. This would mean that public higher education would be a significantly smaller portion of state investment priorities than it is today. To fill the gap of declining revenue, colleges offload costs to students who take burdensome student loans. The reaction to state funding changes varies depending on institution type.This study examines trends in key revenue streams (state appropriations, tuition and fees, grants and contracts, auxiliary services, and other) at 1,497 publicly controlled institutions from 1990-91 to 2020-21. The Mission Driven Classification (MDC) was used, with a focus on the decennial census years, to isolate key factors of geography (Rural, Suburban, and Urban) and size. The first article reviews the effects of presence or lack of local funding over time on state appropriations support and tuition and fees revenues at 951 publicly controlled rural, suburban, and urban Community Colleges. The second article uses the MDC to analyze funding stream changes at 439 public Regional Universities and 951 Community Colleges by geographic type (Rural, Suburban, and Urban) over time. The third article uses the MDC to examine the effects of college size on key revenue streams at Smaller and Larger Flagship Universities over time. Together, these articles provide a repository of rich institutional level data that can be used by state and federal policymakers and researchers for more accurate comparative analyses, demonstrating the utility of the MDC as compared to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's Basic Classification.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Alabama Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Phillips, Undre Vantonio

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Katsinas, Stephen G

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hardy, David
• Bray, Nathaniel
• Breaux, Arleene
• Alexander, King

• Community College/Regional/Flagship University
• Education Equity
• Geography
• Post-Secondary Education Finance
• Rural/Suburban/Urban
• State Appropriations

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Dc Identifier Other

http://purl.lib.ua.edu/188261
u0015_0000001_0004780
Phillips_alatus_0004D_15394

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/12767