Federal stimulus funds under the ARRA did not protect state student financial aid, further eroding higher education affordability

Recent years have seen large increases in the cost of a college degree, with higher education institutions becoming more reliant on tuition fees rather than state funding. Part of 2009’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had the aim of incentivizing states to spend more on higher education and to improve college affordability. Using a dataset spanning nine years and 50 states, Jennifer A. Delaney takes a close look at the policy’s effects. She finds that while states did not cut their appropriations for higher education, they do appear to have reduced student aid — a category of spending not specified in the legislation. She argues that if college is to remain affordable, future federal matching fund programs need to consider all types of state spending on higher education.