You cut college funding, you'll pay for it

Ben Casselman has an article up on fivethirtyeight.com that goes over changes in state funding for higher education in recent years, and focuses in on our fair Governor’s latest proposal.

In his latest budget, Gov. Scott Walker proposes reducing spending on the University of Wisconsin system by $300 million over two years, a 13 percent cut. The plan is drawing national attention, in part because Walker has emerged as a strong early contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

Wisconsin, like most states, slashed spending on its public colleges during the recession. Between 2008 and 2012, Wisconsin cut per student spending by 19 percent after adjusting for inflation, according to data from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. That’s pretty close to the national average cut of 24 percent over the same period. (North Dakota was the only state where per student spending actually increased.)

Since the recession ended, states have been restoring funding, albeit gradually. Forty-two states increased per student spending in fiscal year 2014, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, although funding remains below prerecession levels in nearly every state. Wisconsin was one of eight states that kept cutting as the economy improved.

The article also includes a chart that shows the clear correlation between lower state spending on schools and higher tuition/fees. But note that it’s not exactly a 1-to-1 correlation (more like tuition goes up 17% for every 20% cut), and that the trend indicates there would be a small increase in tuition over the last 6 years even if state spending is held constant and after accounting for inflation (not surprising, but likely something to look into).



You’ll notice that Wisconsin is in a nearly one-to-one relationship here, with the decreases in funding per student and increases in tuition/fees both between 21 and 22%, even with Walker’s tuition freeze that started in 2013-14 (the last year of the graph’s data). If the Governor’s proposal was to pass as presented, with another 2-year tuition freeze included, you’d see Wisconsin well off on the bottom left end of this graph by 2017. That would leave them out with South Carolina, Louisiana and Arizona, who are the three states that cut the most in higher ed spending over those 6 years, each cutting by more than 40% over those 6 years.

Is it safe to say that if you’re in the same league as Arizona, South Carolina, Louisiana and it isn’t in regards to how warm your temperatures are in mid-February, it may be a clue that you should reconsider what your state is doing?