The title of a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says it all: “Recent Deep State Higher Education Cuts May Harm Students and the Economy for Years to Come.”   The report provides important details about the depth and breadth of recent cuts around the country.

For instance, since 2008, according to the report,

State spending nationwide is down $2,353 or 28 percent per student..

• Every state except North Dakota and Wyoming has cut funding.
• Thirty-six states have cut funding by more than 20 percent.
• Eleven states have cut funding by more than one-third.
• The two states making the largest cuts by percentage, Arizona and New Hampshire, have cut their higher education spending in half.

The report goes on to detail the cost of these cuts for access, quality, and affordability.  The cost is high, indeed, for students, for our economy, and for our democracy.