Introduction

New American and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) teamed up this summer for a survey of state higher education agencies and systems on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected state funding for public higher education. The pandemic has depressed economic activity and led to increased costs for states, both of which can affect the availability of funding for public higher education. State higher education funding includes investments in higher education institutions, student financial aid, capital projects, and research.

The survey responses reveal a wide variety in how the pandemic has affected state funding for higher education. In some states, there has not yet been a significant relationship between the pandemic and state higher education funding, while other states have already outlined sharp cuts to higher education budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. Some states are waiting on a federal stimulus package before taking next steps on the state budget. The state survey information is only preliminary, and will likely change in the months ahead as new state revenue numbers are announced and if a deal is reached on a federal stimulus package. We currently have 46 states included in this tracker which is organized alphabetically within U.S. Census regions. This website will be updated as we receive more information.

For more information on the survey or further questions, please contact Rachel Fishman at fishmanr@newamerica.org or Tom Harnisch at tharnisch@sheeo.org.

Updated 02/18/21 with revised responses from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida (new addition), Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Nevada (new addition), Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Archived responses through February 9, 2021 here.