Northeast

In Connecticut, the state legislature adjourned in March due to COVID-19, when session typically goes until June. Since this happened mid-session, the legislature was not able to make any changes to the two-year budget adopted in 2019. As a result, state funding for higher education has not yet been impacted. However, the state ended FY 2020 with a moderate deficit, and has reported a substantial fall-off in revenue expected in FY 2021 as well. The Governor may rescind up to 5 percent of CSCU’s appropriation to address such a deficit.

The CT Office of Policy and Management (OPM) is in the process of collecting and fulfilling requests for reimbursement of COVID-19 related expenses with federal funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund that came directly to the state. Connecticut State Colleges and Universities will continue to work closely with the legislature in order to secure funding to support our system when they return for a special session.

Updated 07/28/20

In response to a budget shortfall due to drops in sales and income tax revenue, Maine Governor Janet T. Mills issued a curtailment order in September 2020, which included a 1 percent reduction ($2.25M) to an already-flat FY 21 state appropriation for the University of Maine System, and similar 1 percent reduction for the state’s community college system ($745,850) and public maritime academy ($92,141).

Despite an initial request to plan for state funding cuts of as much as 10.4 percent in the FY 22-23 biennium, the Governor’s budget proposal released in January 2021 held funding flat at pre-curtailment FY 21 levels for Maine’s public postsecondary systems and maritime academy. That budget recommendation will be taken up by the Maine Legislature starting in February.

In November, the Mills administration announced it would use a portion of its remaining Coronavirus Relief Funding to reimburse the state’s public postsecondary institutions for fall semester testing and PPE costs, including $8.1M for the University of Maine System’s successful COVID-19 testing program that kept the positivity rate on public university campuses to a fraction of the state’s already low rate. None of Maine's Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds were directed to its 38 colleges and universities, which collectively have a $4.5B impact on the state’s economy.

The pandemic’s financial impact on the state’s largest public educational and research enterprise, the University of Maine System, is estimated at $100M, including $27M for testing and tracing; $14M for room and board losses; $12.8M for reimbursement to students in spring 2020 following the early closure of residences halls; and $30M from research redirection and downtime at the University of Maine. So far, no costs have been passed on to students and their families.

Updated 02/09/21

The state of New Jersey has experienced a budget shortfall of nearly $10 billion in fiscal year 2021. The state immediately extended fiscal year 2020 and pushed back the state tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15, 2020. In March 2020, the Office of Management and Budget placed a total of $920 million of appropriations into reserve, including about $113 million dedicated to higher education operating aid, to ensure the state could continue to meet emergency and statutory obligations.

With the state fiscal year extension, a supplemental budget was passed to fund higher education from July 1 through September 30, 2020 at 25 percent of Governor Phil Murphy’s budget recommendation for fiscal year 2021.

The state has maintained tuition assistance programs for postsecondary students at their fiscal year 2020 funding levels. These include Tuition Aid Grants (TAG), Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Grants and Community College Opportunity Grants, among others.

Data self-reported from public institutions of higher education about the financial impacts of the pandemic totaled approximately $763.8 million through September 30, 2020.

Governor Murphy announced the state’s revised fiscal year 2021 budget on August 25, 2020, which included details on higher education funding for the abbreviated fiscal year 2021 (the nine-month period between October 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021). The state dedicated all of its federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund I (GEERF) under the CARES Act to fund public institutions of higher education. A total of $68 million in GEERF was allocated to 29 two- and four-year public institutions of higher education to assist them during the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional $225 million in Coronavirus Relief Funding (CRF) was allocated to public and not-for-profit private higher education institutions.

For more details on the financial health of the state, please see the “Report on the Financial Condition of the State Budget for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021,” which was released in May 2020.

To see the full nine-month budget for fiscal year 2021, see the “Appropriations Handbook 2020 – 2021”.

Updated 02/09/21

New York State enacted a fiscal year 20-21 budget in April. It did not include any funding adjustments based on the pandemic. It did include a provision allowing future adjustments to be made as needed based on the impact on the state’s economy of the pandemic. As a contingency for the impact, the state is currently withholding 20 percent of funding for state agencies and public universities.

Updated 10/15/20

Since our budget was negotiated during the height of the pandemic in March, (our fiscal year begins April 1st), the appropriation levels didn’t change much from the prior year, instead the Governor and Legislature agreed to a process for reductions if necessary later in the fiscal year. Governor Cuomo has been clear that without significant funding for states and localities from the federal government (most recent press release asking for $500 billion to states and localities here), there will be reductions to the budget passed in April.

Although the ever-shifting circumstances make it impossible to precisely calculate the full impact, SUNY projects that the negative impact as of June 30th totals $400 million, with potential to reach approximately $1.0 billion in the coming months due to the an expected loss in enrollment, losses in residence hall revenue, and enhanced health and safety costs.

Updated 10/06/20

When Pennsylvania passed its 2020-2021 budget in May 2020, most portions of the budget were only funded for six months. The exception was line items related to higher education. Despite the reduction of tax revenue caused by COVID-19, Pennsylvania was able to level-fund public higher education support for 2020-2021. Financial support for all public colleges and universities, as well as financial aid to support students at any college or university, was funded at 2019-2020 appropriation levels. Additionally, due to the availability of CARES Act funding provided to the state, Pennsylvania was able to provide additional financial support to the state funds distributed in the General Appropriations bill.

An additional $30 million was provided to the Pennsylvania State Grant Program, which increased the maximum award for students from the 2019-2020 levels. An additional $5 million was appropriated for institutional grants to private colleges and universities, $5 million for grant programs that assist disadvantaged students, and $2.2 million for student loan interest forbearance. The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funding was also appropriated at $28 million for postsecondary education in Pennsylvania. Adult and Basic Education programs received $500 thousand with the remaining funds going to postsecondary schools according to the distribution which can be found here.

CARES ACT funding was used to provide an additional $30 million to the PASSHE (PA State System of Higher Education) universities, and the state legislature approved a bill that enables PASSHE reform – something that was on the table prior to COVID-19. In Pennsylvania, most Commonwealth departments and agencies were funded on a short-term, six-month basis as the state awaits final revenue figures. Higher education—including Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, state-related universities, community colleges and state grant program—was flat funded for the entire 2020/21 fiscal year. In addition, the Commonwealth appropriated $30 million of one-time federal CARES Act Title V funds to the State System and $30 million to the state grant program. Yet, COVID has affected state funding for higher education in so much as the State System, for example, had sought a 2 percent increase in the annual state appropriation and a $20 million investment—part of a five-year $100 million request—to modernize the System’s operating infrastructure. The 12-month, level-funded budget has provided much needed predictability and was extremely helpful, especially in a year that so far has resulted in a $3.2 billion revenue loss for the Commonwealth, but State System universities are now anticipating using approximately $140 million in reserves to meet their FY 2020-21 expenditure requirements, partly due to declining enrollments and increased costs due to COVID-19. Without increased financial resources, it is increasingly challenging to be responsive to the concerns of the General Assembly, the Commonwealth, and most importantly, the needs of our students.

Updated 10/14/20

The FY 20-21 budget was approved. In preparation for the FY 22 budget, the institutions of higher education are working to meet projected shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic and the concomitant enrollment drops. In line with the Governor’s budget recommendations, the potential cutbacks in state appropriations could amount to 15 percent.

Updated 02/09/21

The Vermont State Colleges is facing a $40 million budget deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year. The VSC was already facing significant headwinds prior to the pandemic with structural challenges relative to regional demographics, its heavy dependency on student tuition, and a larger than necessary physical footprint. These structural challenges were dramatically compounded by the pandemic resulting in a deficit that is equivalent to roughly 23 percent of anticipated operating expenses for the fiscal year.

The State of Vermont has been extremely generous to the Vermont State Colleges. As of this writing, bridge funding of $12.5 million has been allocated to the system. The legislature and Governor are currently working with the VSC to resolve the remaining gap and we are hopeful they will be able to do so. We continue to creatively use CARES Relief Fund money where possible under the guidelines issued by the US Department of Treasury. With that said, we continue to work with our federal delegation to address easing of restrictions related to use of these funds.

Updated 8/28/20