Higher ed funding, particularly at the state level, is not going in the direction one might expect at public colleges and universities a few years after the economic turmoil of the COVID pandemic. And neither is enrollment, according to a new analysis.

As the academic year comes to an end, student protesters have continued demonstrating during graduation ceremonies. At Arizona State University, students have filed lawsuits against the school, claiming that their suspensions violated their right of free speech.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of children regularly miss elementary, middle and high school. Is the same pattern of absenteeism playing out at colleges, too? If so, what’s driving the trend? And what can professors and higher ed leaders do about it?

Chalk it up to California dreaming: Not even three years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised California’s public universities five years of annual growth in state support totalling more than $2 billion.