Buoyed by Solid Economies, Most States Spend More on Higher Education

State spending on higher education this fiscal year grew almost 4 percent over 2018, according to the results of an annual survey released on Monday.

The “Grapevine” survey, compiled by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, found wide variations in states’ support for their colleges during the current fiscal year.

But over all, the increase in money for higher education follows a strong year for many state economies, which are projected to grow more than 4 percent in the 2019 fiscal year. Half of the states reported increasing higher-education spending by more than 3 percent for the current fiscal year, with Colorado showing the largest gain, at 12 percent, according to the survey.

Eighteen other states had increases in spending of less than 3 percent, according to a report on the survey.

Just five states reported decreases in higher-education appropriations, led by South Carolina, with a drop of 3.7 percent. That compares favorably to the previous fiscal year, when 18 states cut higher-education spending by as much as 21 percent.

As usual, a handful of populous states accounted for most of the nationwide increase: The 6.6-percent rise in higher-education money in California made up nearly 30 percent of the national increase. The growth in spending in eight states — Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington — accounted for nearly 70 percent of the national increase, the survey found.

The five-year trend for higher-education appropriations also continued to improve, the survey found. State spending on colleges has increased more than 18 percent since the 2015 fiscal year, with just seven states seeing declines over that period.

Eric Kelderman writes about money and accountability in higher education, including such areas as state policy, accreditation, and legal affairs. You can find him on Twitter @etkeld, or email him at eric.kelderman@chronicle.com.