Figure 4

Higher Education Cost Adjustment is heavily biased toward finding state disinvestment even in cases where state funding has increased substantially

State funding per student by price index, 2025 dollars (except for nominal dollars)

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Sources: “State Higher Education Finance FY 2025,” State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, 2026; “R-CPI-U-RS Homepage,” Consumer Price Index, Bureau of Labor Statistics; and “Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index (PCEPI),” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Notes: HECA = Higher Education Cost Adjustment; CPI = Consumer Price Index; CPI-RS = Consumer Price Index Research Series; and PCEPI = Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index.