HCM Releases Brief to Support States in Making Student-Centered Policies
HCM Strategists has released “Building Sustainable and Effective State Higher Education Finance Systems,” a new policy brief with a companion fact sheet, designed to help states make smart choices amid a challenging climate. While many states are navigating tight budgets and competing priorities, current higher education finance approaches often fall short in aligning investments with student success, equitable access and long-term economic value.
How states invest in higher education now matters more than ever. To ensure higher education remains a driver of opportunity and economic mobility, state funding decisions must prioritize students, outcomes and value—yet many current investment approaches fall short.
The framework outlined in this brief provides nonpartisan principles and guiding questions to help states make thoughtful, student-centered funding decisions grounded in their state’s specific context. In the short term, it can be used to assess current budget and appropriations proposals and identify where changes are needed. In the long term, it can help states articulate and advance a more coherent, student-centered vision for higher education finance through executive budgets or legislative reform.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to Arnold Ventures for its support of this work. The views and conclusions expressed in the paper are those of HCM Strategists and should not be attributed to Arnold Ventures.