State funding for public colleges and universities down more than 25% since 2008

Despite a recovering economy, state funding for Alabama's colleges and universities remains deflated, according to data provided today by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

Statewide, funding for higher education is still down $452 million, some 25.7 percent from 2008 levels, ACHE Director of Institutional Finance and Facilities Susan Cagle told the Alabama Council of College and University Presidents today.

The accounting comes as ACHE is expected to request Friday a funding increase of $69.4 million or 4.8 percent for higher education in the next fiscal year.

Alabama ranked fourth in the nation for cuts to higher education from 2008 to 2013, slashing $556 million or 28 percent from college and university budgets to accommodate lost revenue during the recession, according to a study by the Grapevine project at Illinois State University.

http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/12/alabamas_higher_education_fund.html#incart_m-rpt-2