In a survey distributed in November 2023, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association asked state higher education leaders to identify their top policy issues for 2024.
This report details their responses. The report also includes additional honorary mentions—topics consistently making headlines and generating important conversations among the higher education community.
Economic and workforce development ranked as the No. 1 priority for the second year in a row among higher education leaders. Last year, economic and workforce development tied with K-12 teacher workforce as number one. This year, K-12 teacher workforce fell to number nine.
Ranking No. 2 for 2024 policy priorities is state operating support for public colleges and universities, rising from No. 4. The budgetary news in many states remains positive heading into 2024 legislative sessions, with continued surpluses and robust reserve funds. The sustainability of these surpluses, however, remains an open question. Diminishing federal relief funds, combined with sharp state tax cuts and growing needs for investments across state governments will put pressure on many state budgets in the year ahead. While state operating support for public colleges and universities has increased in most states over the past two decades, state operating support decreased in more than half of all states from fiscal years 2020-2022, when adjusted for inflation.
Rounding out the top five priorities are: (3) higher education’s value proposition, (4) college affordability, and (5) state funding for financial aid programs. All top five issues ranked within the top 10 in 2023. Other issues in the top 10 include (6) public perception of higher education, (7) college completion/student success, (8) enrollment declines, (9) K-12 teacher workforce, and (10) adult/nontraditional student success.