US News report on budget situation at public colleges nationally

All summer, NFA representatives have been making the point as often as possible to candidates and state office holders that this state has got to move past simple slogans or quick fixes and start to plan, now, for whats coming in 2011.

Needless, to say, only a very few have shown that they "get it" and are thinking about ways to address this challenge.

If the others needed more encouragement, they could refer to this US News & World Report story .

Unless officials in troubled states find new tax dollars to support their colleges, administrators will have little choice but to impose hefty tuition increases or reduce the number of classes and services offered on campus

.

In case you missed it, that means unless there are additional state revenues, that means there will be significant tuition hikes or significant further cuts to faculty.

While Nevada is the first state noted as imposing steep cuts on its students and faculty, other states are facing up to this reality.

Arizona, for example, suffers from a troubled economy and a severe state budget shortfall. But voters there recently agreed to a temporary 1 cent sales tax surcharge to forestall further education cuts.

Other states facing economic difficulty have made preserving higher education funding a priority

Maryland will likely deal with some economic and budget troubles in 2011. But the leaders in that state have so far shielded public colleges from the deep budget cuts and painful tuition increases that leaders in other states, such as California and Nevada, have imposed on their public colleges.