Skip to main content
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact

Search form

American Institutes for Research

  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Health
    • International
    • Workforce
    • ALL TOPICS >
  • Our Services
    • Research and Evaluation
    • Technical Assistance
  • Our Experts
  • News & Events

You are here

  • Home
12 Jan 2016
Report

Trends in College Spending: 2003-2013 - Where Does the Money Come From? Where Does It Go? What Does It Buy?

Donna Desrochers and Steven Hurlburt

Trends in College Spending: 2003–2013 examines college and university finances during one of the most turbulent economic periods in decades. The financial ramifications of the 2008 recession were vast, affecting students’ ability to pay for college, lawmakers’ prioritization of public resources, and the budgetary environment facing higher education leaders. The challenges brought by the fiscal crisis also provided colleges and universities with an opportunity to reevaluate how they allocated resources and rethink how to manage costs and improve student outcomes.

Like previous Trends in College Spending reports, this update describes how colleges collect and spend money and the outcomes they produce. Financial and performance trends during the 2003–2013 decade suggest that, five years after the onset of the recession, higher education finally began to show signs of a fiscal recovery.

Report Highlights

  • Spending increased across all types of public and private institutions from 2012 to 2013.
  • The financial position of community colleges showed significant improvement in 2013 as enrollment continued to decline.
  • After four years of significant declines, sharp cuts in state and local appropriations subsided in 2013.
  • Colleges and universities no longer shifted additional operating costs onto students in 2013, but tuition revenue still financed a majority of education-related spending at public and private four-year institutions.
  • Degree and certificate production grew throughout the decade amid steadily declining costs in the recession’s aftermath; in 2013, however, a reversal occurred at some types of institutions.
PDF icon Trends in College Spending: 2003-2013 - Where Does the Money Come From? Where Does It Go? What Does It Buy? (PDF)

Related Work

12 Jan 2016
News Release

College Finances Begin to Bounce Back from Recession, But Students Continue to Pay for Most Institutional Costs

College and university finances have largely rebounded from the 2008 recession, but students still shoulder the bulk of education-related costs at most postsecondary institutions through tuition, according to a new report by the Delta Cost Project at AIR.
12 Jan 2016
Blog Post

Hurlburt Steve_013.jpg

Steven Hurlburt

College Finance Report: Most Have Weathered the Recession

The 2008-09 recession struck hard at college and university finances. In this blog post, AIR's Steven Hurlburt explains that, while colleges and universities continue to show signs of fiscal recovery in 2013, some worrying shifts remain, particularly for public higher education.
Topic: 
Education, Postsecondary Education
11 Dec 2014
Video

The Cost of Higher Ed: How Changing Staffing and Compensation Impact Tuition

Colleges and universities increasingly rely on part-time faculty to meet instructional demands and rein in costs, but that hasn’t led to lower tuitions for students.

Topic: 
Education, Postsecondary Education
28 Jul 2014
Report

Trends in College Spending: 2001–2011

This Trends in College Spending update presents national-level estimates for the Delta Cost Project data metrics during the period 2001–11. The updated analysis finds that subsidies for public higher education institutions have hit a 10-year low, while students for the first time pay on average half or more of their education’s cost. Additionally, community colleges are posting the lowest level of spending per student in a decade.
Topic: 
Postsecondary Education, School Finance
4 Aug 2014
Commentary

college-students-talking-bridge.jpg

three college students in serious discussion

Think Again: Is Rampant College Spending Behind Skyrocketing Tuition Bills? Or Not?

College students now expect tuition bills 4 to 6 percent higher than they paid the year before. That often means students in four-year public universities pay several hundred dollars more annually while students at private universities shell out upwards of a thousand dollars more each year. What is all this extra money buying?
Topic: 
Education, Postsecondary Education, School Finance

Further Reading

  • College Finances Begin to Bounce Back from Recession, But Students Continue to Pay for Most Institutional Costs
  • College Finance Report: Most Have Weathered the Recession
  • Earning Success Through Community College
  • Trends in College Spending: 2001–2011
  • College Subsidies Hit Decade Low as Students Pay at Least Half of Their Education Cost for the First Time
Share

Contact

Steven Hurlburt

Steven Hurlburt

Principal Researcher

Topic

Education
Postsecondary Education

Related News

13 Jan 2016

Delta Cost Project Report Outlines Trends in College Spending

13 Jan 2016

College Finances Improve, But Students Still Shoulder Burdens

Related Center

Delta Cost Project

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

About Us

About AIR
Board of Directors
Leadership
Experts
Clients
Contracting with AIR
Contact Us

Our Work

Education
Health
International
Workforce

Client Services

Research and Evaluation
Technical Assistance

News & Events

Careers at AIR


Search form


 

Connecting

FacebookTwitterLinkedinYouTubeInstagram

American Institutes for Research

1400 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor
Arlington, VA 22202-3289
Call: (202) 403-5000
Fax: (202) 403-5000

Copyright © 2021 American Institutes for Research®.  All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap