Building Sustainable and Effective State Higher Education Finance Systems
How states invest in higher education now matters more than ever. At a time of fiscal pressure, shifting enrollment patterns, and growing expectations for postsecondary value, funding decisions play a critical role in determining whether higher education continues to serve as a pathway to opportunity—or becomes less accessible and less effective for the students who need it most.
Building Sustainable and Effective State Higher Education Finance Systems is a new policy brief, with companion fact sheet, designed to support more student-centered, value-focused policymaking. 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.
This resource introduces a practical, nonpartisan framework to help states rethink how they allocate and evaluate higher education funding. Rather than prescribing a single model, it offers a set of core principles and guiding questions that policymakers and stakeholders can use to assess whether current—and proposed—investments are advancing meaningful outcomes for students and states alike.
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This framework was developed through collaborative consultation with the following higher education and state budget experts:
Sandy Baum, Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Urban Institute
Dr. Laurie Bernotsky, President, West Chester University
Patrick Carter, Vice President and State Practice Lead, Results for America
Tracy Hartzler, President, Central New Mexico Community College
Nate Johnson, Founder and Principal Consultant, Postsecondary Analytics
Ruth Johnston, Vice President of Consulting, NACUBO
Sarah Keyton, Deputy Commissioner for Administration & Operations, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Jim Pinkard, Director of Postsecondary Finance and Capital, Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission
Elena Quiroz-Livanis, Deputy Secretary of Higher Education, Maryland Higher Education Commission
Laura Rittner, Vice President of Operations and Student Success, Ohio Association of Community Colleges
Tristan Stein, former Associate Director for Higher Education, Bipartisan Policy Center
Russell VanZomeren, Senior Director of Fiscal Policy, Tennessee Higher Education Commission
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.
