Universities States Fund

Introduction

States universities are a group of educational institutions that are supported by the state. Every state has at least one university that it supports. There are universities and federal funded colleges that are limited to government employees and military personnel. Members of foreign governments or militaries can also attend state universities.

Regarding the state universities systems, these refer to a single legal administration and entity but they usually consist of two or more institutions each having its own identity. States universities are funded by the state they belong to. The state subsidies a university in order to lower the tuition costs and it varies from institution to institution. More and more people go to college and that’s why admission to states universities has become more and more competitive in recent years.

There are countries that keep a different system for states universities. These are usually known as junior colleges, technical colleges or community colleges and have a different system than the university system.

In 2007, when the recession began, the states’ revenues were heavily impacted and deepened across the countries. Because the states had to balance the budgets, the officials needed to cut some services including funding for states universities. Even more, this is the branch that suffered most because of the world financial crisis. The funding for higher education institutions is influenced by the fiscal situation of the state. When fiscal conditions are weak, the funding for different programs takes a disproportional hit. On the other hand, it increases when the state budget recovers.

Usually, the funding for higher education institutions is seen more discretionary by the state elected officials because universities and colleges usually find different sources of revenue, like tuition, in order to compensate for the reduced support from the state. On the other hand, other services that belong to the state are unable to find resources to fund independently.

In the last years, many universities and colleges had to let go many employees many because of the financial crisis. Even more, tuition increased and enrollment was capped. The situation doesn’t seem to get better in the years to come and universities will face big deficits in the following years. The states aren’t able to support higher education institutions like they did in the past. Professors and other college employees said that cuts from the budget feel like “apocalyptic” measures and many of them are afraid of being let go.

The situation doesn’t seem to be improving and officials will have to take even more harsh decisions regarding tuitions and employees. In the past years, universities had to raise the tuition taxes with 15 percent or more. Many institutions used this tactic during economic downturns and millions of families felt it in their yearly budget. When the economy of the state is good, the institutions feel the generosity of the state. On the other hand, when the situation looks bad, universities and public colleges treat students as paying customers, making them pay more for the same services.

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