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During economic recessions, state funding for higher education contracts (Delaney & Doyle, 2011; Hovey, 1999; SHEEO, 2022). Despite this reality, public higher education officials need to offer insights and explanations to state legislators about the current status of their institutions and their needs when discussing their budget requests. We use a multiple case-study design, framed by the narrative policy framework, to examine how campus officials in California and Texas justify their budget requests to the state legislature during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on 131 h of transcribed legislative budget meetings and 62 documents, our findings suggest that higher education leaders emphasize the economic functions of higher education and center their ability to successfully manage during these uncertain and difficult times by highlighting improved or stable accountability measures such as enrollment, persistence, graduation, and job placement rates. During these budget requests, there are commonalities between the states regarding the structure, justifications, and narrative strategies used. However, higher education leaders evoked different narrative objects depending on the perceived values, beliefs, and norms of their state legislators.

This article submits that while the world continues to view education as a human right, it also persists in depriving an important section of it – namely adult learning and education (ALE) – of adequate funding. Located within the lifelong learning domain, which facilitates both the resolution of challenges and adjustment to the vagaries of living throughout a lifetime, ALE is indispensable within the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article identifies four factors which are currently responsible for the poor funding of ALE. These factors are: (1) the world’s obsession with the provision of school education; (2) the lack of adequate instruments to work out ALE’s returns on investment; (3) the hope that employers will ultimately supply ALE; and (4) the assumption that an expansion of formal schooling will eventually lead to the establishment of literate societies free of inter-generational crises. Since ALE is generally framed as a broad literacy education project, the author undertakes a review of literacy education costing. This leads him to posit that quality literacy education can be supplied at a unit cost ranging between USD 150 and USD 250 annually within any Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) country. Finally, the article offers four recommendations to increase ALE funding going forward.

The purpose of this article is to discuss how best to finance higher education in low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa, drawing on benefits and drawbacks of the prevalent models of higher education finance, and lessons to be learned from countries which have seen greater expansion of their higher education systems in recent decades. Two main aspects are distinguished: first, a recognition of the powerful evidence that the general level of education in a country, its human capital, matters in determining a path to economic development; second, understanding that it does not help to produce large number of unemployed graduates whose only option due to absence of jobs is to engage in rent-seeking activities which in the end undermine both the essence of the human capital investment made, and job creation to be associated with human capital skills. Three areas are discussed, fully publicly financed \"free\" university education model; feasibility and lessons about fees; feasibility and lessons about loans. In addition, the paper makes suggestions on the measures to widen participation and promote equity and quality. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).

Higher education (HE) funding mechanisms in the European Union (EU) are undergoing substantial reform, with universities facing increasing pressure to improve performance outcomes under constrained public budgets. This study analyses how the design of HE funding mechanisms—specifically, the logic of resource allocation and the principles of performance evaluation, together with the volume of public investment, macroeconomic conditions, and demographic factors—affect graduation rates in the EU. The study uses panel data from 27 EU Member States for the period 2013–2023 and applies multiple regression models with one- to four-year lags to assess the delayed effects of funding and economic factors. The results showed that a larger share of young people in the population and public expenditure per student are positively and statistically significantly associated with higher graduation rates (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, the overall level of funding (HE expenditure as a share of GDP) and performance-based funding (PBF) mechanisms are associated with lower graduation rates (p < 0.01). GDP per capita has a negative effect (p < 0.01), indicating that stronger labour market opportunities may reduce the motivation to complete studies. Youth unemployment and inflation proved to be statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). The most substantial effect was found after two years, confirming the delayed but weakening impact of funding and macroeconomic factors on study graduation rates. The study extends previous work by integrating an analysis of funding design and time dimensions at the EU level. The results emphasise that it is not so much the amount of funding that is important for higher education outcomes, but instead how it is funded—therefore, targeted, student-oriented investments and long-term policy consistency are necessary to achieve higher graduation rates.

The year 2024 marked nine of the 15-year timeline towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consequently, questions arise regarding the progress made. Based on a survey (n=290), key informant interviews (n=31), and archival sources, this paper explored the role and perspectives of academic staff in localising the SDGs within Zimbabwean universities. Despite high awareness of SDGs among academics, with 82.07% indicating prior knowledge, there remains significant gaps in the promotion of SDG-related initiatives in core mandates. Few academics have published SDG-related works, highlighting a disconnect between awareness and scholarly output. Institutional engagement and readiness for SDGs localisation appear limited, with a significant proportion of respondents expressing unfamiliarity with institutional policies and SDGs projects on the ground. The study also identified several barriers to effective SDG localisation, including inadequate funding, demotivated staff, a lack of top management support, and additional workload without proper incentives. While there is a clear recognition of the importance of SDGs and their commitment to their integration within Zimbabwean universities, significant challenges impede their full localisation. The study recommends enhanced financial resources, institutional support, and policy development to empower academics and institutions to meaningfully contribute towards achieving the SDGs by 2030. This research adds to the growing body of knowledge focusing on SDGs localisation in higher education institutions, especially in universities. Apart from directly responding to the United Nations and global leaders' call to embrace the 17 SDGs framework and leaving no one behind, work by universities from the developing Southern Hemisphere, especially Africa and the least developed countries such as Zimbabwe, is not adequately documented and placed on global platforms. It is important to note that, like many other universities globally, the Zimbabwean universities sampled are engaging in the SDGs with similar challenges, recording good progress on some SDGs, and limited progress on others. Therefore, with six years remaining towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development landmark, more work is needed to fast-track the localisation of SDGs in Zimbabwean universities. This could be achieved through enhanced resource mobilisation and implementing the right policies and staff incentives.

State support of public higher education has rapidly declined relative to total state spending. Much of this decline in support is due to the rapid growth in spending on such things as Medicaid. However, relative support of public higher education varies significantly between states. This study applies Tandberg's (2009) fiscal policy framework created to explain state support of public higher education in order to evaluate the relationship between various factors and states' relative support of higher education. While Tandberg's fiscal policy framework accounts for traditional economic and demographic factors in explaining state support for higher education, it also draws attention to political influences as well including the impact of state-level interest groups. Using cross-sectional time-series analysis these relationships are explored over a 19-year period. The findings provide evidence of the significant impact of interest groups and politics on state fiscal policy in regard to higher education.

In an era marked by declining government funding for tertiary education, the South African PSET sector faces an existential crisis. The silo-fication of the system means that the options available to the growing demographic of youth entering post-secondary education are limited. This article explores how reduced government funding has strained public universities, leading to widespread student protests, increased dropout rates, and compromised educational quality. Our focus in this article is on the role of private higher education and, in its own right, collaborating with other parts of the PSET sector. What is needed is an HE system that facilitates much more coordination and collaboration, and for the components of the PSET sector to find ways of working together to create a coherent, integrated network to produce maximal learning opportunities for students and to support the objectives of the NQF Act. This article serves as a call for policymakers, educational leaders, government, and stakeholders to recognise and leverage the growth capacity of private higher education in shaping a resilient, integrated, and future-proof PSET sector in South Africa. Isihloko ngesiXhosa: Ukuba ngabucala ngakumbi: Ukwandisa isiseko semfundo ephakamileyo yaseMzantsi AfrikaKwixesha elibonakalisa ukwehla kwenkxaso-mali karhulumente kwiziko lezemfundo ephakamileyo icandelo lemfundo nengqeqesho emva kwesikolo lijongene nengxaki ekhoyo. Ukwahlukahlukana kwenkqubo kuthetha ukuthi ukwanda kwamanani olutsha olungena kwimfundo elandela eyamabanga aphakamileyo lunemida engakwazi ukudlulela kuyo xa kufikwa kwimikhethe ebekwa phambi kwabo. Eli nqaku liphonononga indlela ukuncitshiswa kwenkxaso-mali karhulumente ethe yabeka ngayo uxinzelelo kwiidyunivesithi zikawonke-wonke, nto leyo ikhokelele kuqhankqalazo lwabafundi oluxhaphakileyo, ukunyuka kwezinga labo bathi bayeke phakathi bengekagqibi esikolweni nokuthotywa komgangatho wemfundo. Ugxininiso lwethu kweli nqaku lukwindima yemfundo ephakamileyo yabucala, nokusebenzisana namanye amacandelo ecandelo lemfundo nengqeqesho emva kwesikolo ngokwalo. Into efunekayo yinkqubo yemfundo ephakamileyo eququzelela ngakumbi ulungelelwaniso nentsebenziswano kunye nokuba amacandelo ecandelo lemfundo nengqeqesho emva kwesikolo afumane iindlela zokusebenzisana ukudala uthungelwano oluhambelanayo noludibeneyo ukuvelisa amathuba okufunda angawona aphezulu kubafundi kwaye axhasa iinjongo zomthetho woHlaka lweZiqinisekiso zeSizwe. Eli nqaku lihlaba ikhwelo kubaqulunqi bomgaqo-nkqubo, iinkokheli zemfundo, urhulumente kunye nabachaphazelekayo ukuba baqaphele kwaye basebenzise amandla okukhula kwemfundo ephakamileyo yabucala ekubumbeni icandelo lemfundo nengqeqesho emva kwesikolo elomeleleyo, elihlanganisiweyo nelinobungqina bexesha elizayo eMzantsi Afrika.

PurposeIn the context of the Australian Government’s attempts to impose budget austerity measures on publicly funded universities in its higher education sector, the purpose of this paper is to assess the sector’s financial health.Design/methodology/approachThe multi-dimensional study is based on seven years of government financial data from all 39 publicly funded Australian universities, supplemented by information from universities’ annual reports. Using a financial health model that reflects vulnerability, viability and resilience, the authors examine sector data using a suite of metrics. The authors analyse differences between those universities in the Top 10 and Bottom 10 by revenue, as a window into the financial health of the sector at large.FindingsWhile mostly financially viable, the sector shows signs of financial vulnerability, particularly in the areas of expense control and financial sustainability. Possibly in response to an uncertain funding environment, universities are managing long-term liquidity by growing reserves. Debt represents largely untapped potential for universities, while differences between the Top 10 and Bottom 10 universities were most evident in the area of revenue diversity, a strong predictor of financial viability.Research limitations/implicationsFocussing on a specific set of financial metrics limits the scope of the study, but highlights further research possibilities. These include more detailed statistical analysis of data, financial case studies of individual universities and the implications of revenue diversification on academic standards.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to higher education literature, providing empirical evidence of universities’ finances. It highlights the importance of universities’ financial resilience in an uncertain funding environment.

This research study explores the existing funding systems of higher education in Georgia and their influence on universities’ research productivity. The research used Harman’s (2007) typology of research funding— institutional, project, and special program—to analyze each approach’s effect on universities’ research productivity. The research revealed that these funding models did not substantially affect the development of scholarly and research capacity. Major barriers to the development of higher education and research are largely related to the amount and financing models. Analysis of the higher education financing policy showed that per capita financing does not allow sufficient research activities at HEI, and targeted financing programs oriented toward developing specific scientific directions or improving scientific infrastructure do not promote research productivity. Based on research findings, the author argues that immediate changes in funding policy are required for the institutional development of university-based research in higher education of Georgia.

This research analyzed the disinvestment in higher education in Illinois. This study is an exploratory case study based on interviews with eleven Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Associate Vice Presidents of Enrollment Management from nine Illinois public universities, qualitative analysis, and secondary data. This study revealed four main themes: the challenges in public universities due to disinvestment in higher education, students migrating outside Illinois, the importance of AIM HIGH Grants, and increased creativity in recruiting students by admissions departments. Disinvestment in higher education had the following impacts: increased tuition, diminished enrollment of students, students migrating outside Illinois, deferred maintenance, loss of talented faculty, and reduction of capital projects.