Government Financing of Higher Education in the 1990s: Austerity, Affordability, and Accountability

Abstract

Austerity, affordability, and accountability will be key watchwords for higher education during the 1990s. Entitlement spending and anemic national growth will constrain federal aid to higher education. Other social priorities are competing for state budget dollars. State and local taxpayers are restive. Under these circumstances, state legislatures can be expected to press for greater accountability from public universities and colleges. As the cost of financing higher education shifts more to students and their families, moreover, citizens can be expected to demand greater affordability and accountability from all institutions of higher education.