This indicator looks at funding for public in-state postsecondary institutions per full-time equivalent (FTE) student. Unlike the figure reported by SHEEO in its “State Higher Education Finance Report,” this calculation does not include state financial aid provided directly to students or state monies allocated for debt service. Net General Fund appropriations per FTE student decreased 3.5% from the previous year but is still higher than the baseline.

Because colleges and universities can raise revenue by increasing tuition, higher education typically experiences cuts when budgets are tight. Nationally, higher education funding per full-time equivalent student fell dramatically during the Great Recession of 2008, but by 2013, most states had begun reinvesting in higher education. Kentucky's state appropriations per FTE has only recently begun to rebound; as a result, it is about 81% of the U.S. average.