Legislatures meet with greater frequency, economic conditions are shifting rapidly, and demands for state dollars have increased in number and intensity. Even states that still have biennial budgets meet midterm to make alterations. These changes have altered the utility of long-term planning for higher education. Further, participants in the state higher education budget process have different perspectives of the time frame. Politicians generally focus on short time frames, while the higher education community has a longer time frame for meeting objectives.
Tensions arise when politicians want quick solutions to problems that require long-term commitments.
Techniques for allocating resources for higher education vary within and among states. Several states use a funding formula for some or all of the higher education budget. Some states approach the funding of higher education from a more programmatic basis. The state higher education budget sets forth the state's major policy preferences for higher education. Major policy concerns in higher education in recent years have been accountability, costs, productivity, quality, affordability, economic development, access for minority and nontraditional students, and equity for independent higher education.