This special supplement to the Winter 2003 issue of "National CrossTalk" offers a snapshot of round one of the current recession and its impact on state higher education budgets enacted and revised in the last half of 2002. It is a composite drawn from the most credible national sources of higher education information in the states at the beginning of the 2003 legislative sessions. Its principal focus is on three key policy variables: state appropriations, tuition and required fees, and state-funded student financial aid. Furthermore, it provides a summary of state-bystate appropriations for higher education, tuition and fees, and changes in state per capita personal income. The reported data are for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 (as of December, 2002). Adjustments in appropriations and tuition increases after December are not included.