Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Gary D. Chamberlin

Abstract

This project was designed to assess the extent to which changes have occurred in the percentage of support provided to institutions of higher education from unrestricted state general fund appropriations in the states that are members of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), over the period from 1988-89 to 1997-98. It also addresses the question of why this change has taken place in institutions classified as SREB Category 5 Four-Year institutions — those that grant a limited number of degrees and have fewer than 5,000 full-time equivalent students. Various institutional leaders, policy makers, and analysts were interviewed to discover why these changes have taken place, whether the current appropriations percentage is the best that could be hoped for, and what approaches might be used to increase the percentage of support received from state appropriations. The primary conclusion is that Category 5 Four-Year institutions in the SREB need to adjust their sights lower than tradition might indicate as they anticipate state general fund appropriations. A secondary conclusion is that the decreasing percentage of revenue provided from state revenues is primarily the result of competing demands on state dollars, and thus represents the best that could be anticipated. The study also identified mechanisms used by institutional leaders or observed by policy makers that might help institutions of this size remain afloat in an ever-shifting economic climate.

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