Useful Stats: State Postsecondary Education Appropriations per Enrolled Student

On a per student basis, state support for public higher education on average increased 4.2% over the four years of 2003-2006. Over the same time period, enrollment figures increased even more rapidly.

The percent change in appropriations per student varies greatly among the states. SSTI has prepared a table presenting the amount of state funds appropriated to postsecondary institutions per-student (2003 to 2006) SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/091008.htm

In 2006, the most recent year enrollment values were available, the U.S. average for the state-based postsecondary appropriations per student was $5,069.

In 2006, Hawaii had the highest amount, at $9,845 per student enrolled in the fall of that year. This was followed by Alaska, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Wyoming. The percent change from 2003 to 2006 varies greatly from state to state, with an increase of 39.7 percent in Nevada and a 13.2 percent decrease in West Virginia. Other states experiencing an increase of more than 18 percent during that time period were Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon, and Alabama.

Current and growing pressures on state revenues and budgets, as reported in the Fiscal Survey of the States published by the National Association of State Budget Officers, suggest the same pace may be difficult to maintain in the future.

The data to construct SSTI's table is derived from two sources. Values for tax-based appropriations to support higher education in each state was collected by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. The enrollment figures at state public institutions include students at both two-year and four-year institutions, and were compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education.

It should be noted the levels of taxed-based appropriations as provided by the Center for the Study of Education Policy are self-reported by the states, and exclude state funding from non-tax sources. At the Center's website, the original appropriations data can be found, in addition to the instructions sent to the states for what funding to include (such as allocations to state-based scholarships, private postsecondary institutions, and educational coordinating boards) and what funding to exclude (such as appropriations for capital outlays and debt service, among others).

The appropriations data for each state is available at: http://www.grapevine.ilstu.edu/fifty_state_summary.htm

Enrollment data for each state from the NCES can be accessed at: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/tables/dt07_200.asp