New Rule on Spending by States Lacks Teeth

That's the headline for an upcoming Chronicle of Higher Education article looking at whether a maintenance of effort provision included in last fall's Higher Education Opportunity Act will actually affect any states. The provision tied a small grant program to states maintaining at least five-year spending averages. Only one state, Rhode Island, is failing to do so. Over a period when enrollment in the state increased nearly ten percent, funding is now 5.2 percent below the five-year average, in unadjusted dollars. They'll lose $330,000 in federal funds, or .18 percent of their budget. Only two other states were within ten percent of the five-year average, Michigan at 3.9 and South Carolina at 6.1.