Higher ed growth slow even before cuts

Even before the state budget shortfall forced mid-year cuts in higher education funding, growth in taxpayer funding for Louisiana’s public colleges and universities was anemic compared to recent history. It’s a trend mirrored in most of the nation as state budgets feel the squeeze of the national recession. State appropriations for higher education in Louisiana grew nearly 20% from 2006-07 to 2007-08, according to an Illinois State University study reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education. From 2007-08 to 2008-09, funding grew by less than 1%. That doesn’t take into account $55 million in mid-year budget cuts for higher education, with even bigger cuts possible as the state confronts a $2 billion budget shortfall for next year.—Steve Clark