What Will The Republican Surge Mean For State Higher Education Budgets? - Andrew Kelly, Forbes

Partisanship clearly shapes higher education policy in the states, but spending seems to be driven by the economy more than anything else. When budgets are tight, both parties have cut higher education funding. And when budgets recover, leaders from both parties spend more. In fact, one study suggests that governors, regardless of their partisanship, work to lower tuition in election years in an effort to help their party win state legislative elections. The intriguing question is where state higher education budgets go from here, and how it will affect the policy debate. It seems unlikely that they will return to prior levels, particularly in light of the Republican surge earlier this month. http://www.forbes.com/sites/akelly/2014/11/30/what-will-the-republican-surge-mean-for-state-higher-education-budgets/