The 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico took advantage of the nation's strong economy during the 2007-8 budget year and spent a total of nearly $10-billion on student aid. That was an increase of 6.6 percent from the year before when adjusted for inflation, according to an annual report released this week by the National…

This year was bleak for state higher-education budgets. But college leaders are even more worried about what comes next. The billions of dollars in federal stimulus aid to plug shortfalls in state education budgets have helped limit the damage this year, but the money hasn't prevented all of the cuts to college budgets. Most states are spending…

The nearly $54-billion that Congress is directing to the states for education as part of the stimulus bill President Obama signed last week may stave off the worst budget cuts proposed for public colleges. But the money is unlikely to save institutions from the state budget ax entirely. And some states slated to get the most aid from that pot of…

Not long ago, forecasts for state appropriations to higher education were gloomy as the credit crisis, a slumping housing market, rising energy costs and unemployment, and sagging consumer confidence took their toll on state finances. The budget news emerging from many statehouses for colleges and universities has been better than expected. This…