Analysis of State Appropriations to Higher Education: Florida and Texas

This study was a quantitative examination of the equity of state appropriations allocated to public higher education institutions in Florida and Texas through state appropriations. This study was actively directed toward the formation and implications of public policy based on historical research and data. The study examined equity based on fiscal and institution level information from the academic years of 1993-1994 to 2007-2008; 15 years subsequent to the holding of U.S. v Fordice and the Office for Civil Rights regulatory requirements issued to states to improve equity in their public systems of higher education.

This study performed a dispersion analysis of fiscal equity using, two common inequality measures, the Theil?s T statistic and Gini Coefficient. A secondary analysis was performed using multiple linear regression to analyze the relationship between allocated state appropriations to an institution and variable institutional level characteristics.

The results of this study indicated that the overall equity of higher education appropriations to state institutions in Florida and Texas had improved during the 15 years subsequent to the Office for Civil Rights regulatory requirements stemming from U.S. v. Fordice. Additionally, the data demonstrates there are definite state priorities present within the respective funding models that may influence the level of state appropriations distributed to individual institutions. In both Florida and Texas, funding models favored the premier research institutions within the state. Coupled with enrollment, as certain institutions academic characteristics increased, so did their appropriations per FTE.

This study demonstrated that Florida and Texas have made strides in increasing the equity of state appropriations in their state systems of higher education. Even if all funding is not equal, the data indicates equitable funding processes comprising legitimate educational rationale in which state appropriations are distributed. However, even though greater parity between educational institutions may be present, a core issue involved the equitable access to academic quality for all students within the state as well, and more progress stills need to be made in that regards.