State funding for higher ed edges up 5% in 2020

States expect to spend 5% more on higher education in the 2020 fiscal year than they did in 2019, the biggest annual increase in five years, according to the latest Grapevine report from the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Funding rose year-over-year in all but three states, compared to nine states in 2015 and 18 states in 2018 that saw decreases. Still, just a handful of states accounted for nearly half the increase this year. The new data comes as public institutions face pressure to lower tuition and as more states tie funding to student outcomes using policies some fear could favor better-resourced schools.