Nationwide, state budget cuts disproportionately hit low-income, minority college students - JON MARCUS, THE HECHINGER REPORT

States have cut spending on higher education since the last recession by a collective $8.7 billion a year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, or CBPP. That will come as no surprise to students and families who have seen their tuition at four-year colleges and universities rise as a result by an average of 33 percent during that time. But the cuts have been uneven. A closer look shows they’re taking a greater toll on colleges and universities such as Chicago State that serve low-income and nonwhite students while flagships that enroll larger proportions of whites from higher-income families have been less affected. Among the reasons is that flagship schools have other sources of income to fall back on, including endowments, research funding, deep-pocketed donors, and out-of-state and international students who can afford to pay a premium tuition price. Community colleges and other, regional public universities don’t have those advantages. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/divided-learn-state-budgets-cuts-hit-poorer-minority-college-students/