With state higher education funding largely being determined based on prior year allocations, state policymakers seek the latest research and guidance in how to revisit funding structures. In many states, inequities and inadequacies across institution types are inherent and can be very difficult to change. The reasons behind such stratification are important to consider, especially as research shows that students of color and low-income students are disproportionately likely to attend poorly resourced institutions.
States have expressed interest in establishing a baseline understanding of inequities and inadequacies in funding for institutions in their state but lack the capacity to determine what this should look like for their public institutions. This project seeks to provide states with the resources to assess or analyze funding adequacy and equity while increasing the research and practical base of understanding regarding how to approach address unintended disparities in state higher education finance.
This project is supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and Strada Education Foundation.
Analytic Framework and Learning Community
SHEEO is collaborating with the research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Student Success Through Applied Research (SSTAR) Lab to develop an equity analysis framework. Informed by a working group of higher education finance policy experts, this framework will be used to build awareness around existing disparities in funding levels and distributions by sector, institution, and/or student populations and further identify appropriate measures and methods for assessing funding disparities. This framework will further be tested during a learning community of state teams beginning in August 2024. Nine states (Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin), are participating in the learning community.
Curating Research and Resources
In efforts to share best practices and research among the higher education policy field, SHEEO hosts bimonthly equity and adequacy finance partners convenings with the purpose to gather, discuss, and share ongoing or completed work that examines equity and adequacy in higher education finance across a multitude of individuals and organizations.
Additionally, SHEEO currently funds six research projects to advance the understanding of equity-based funding, define funding adequacy and inequitable funding, and provide states with actionable, evidence-based solutions to help close equity gaps in public institution funding. These should be published during Summer 2025. More information available here: State Higher Education Equity Funding Research
