Dive Brief:

• State spending on higher education rose more than 5% in fiscal year 2015, the second straight year of growth, according to a report.
• If not for spending increases in California, Florida, and Illinois, the total increase for all states would have been less than 3%, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
• Compared to five years ago, half of the states spent less on higher ed for fiscal year 2015.

Dive Insight:

Looking at the five-year window, Louisiana has had the largest decline in higher ed spending, 24%, with Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma also owning decreases of 10% or more. For the one-year view, the report showed 39 states in the plus column, with Illinois, Colorado, New Hampshire, Utah, and California doling out the top five spending increases. The largest spending decrease this year was in Kentucky, followed by West Virginia, Texas, Vermont, and Arkansas. The Grapevine report that tallies the state spending figures is a combined effort of Illinois State University’s Center for the Study of Education Policy and the Association of State Higher Education Executive Officers.