Data Collection Details

Section 1. Sources of Federal Stimulus Funding

In this section, states were asked to provide information on federal stimulus and/or relief funding allocated to higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Allocations were reported within the specific legislation and fund from which they were provided. Funds collected in this section included only the portion of federal funds allocated to states (not institutions). The specific funds reported in this section consisted of:

• 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act: Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEERF), Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF).
• 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act: Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEERF II).
• 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP): Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF).

Section 2. Uses of Federal Stimulus Funding

In this section, states were asked to report how the funds listed in Section 1 were used for higher education. Funds that could not be broken out by the listed categories (or for which the use is not yet known) were included under “other.”

• Student financial aid.
• Two-year public operating.
• Four-year public operating.
• Independent (private) institution operating.
• Public capital projects.
• Other.

Section 3. Sources of State Support

In this section, states were asked to provide data on appropriations from state government taxes to institutions for operations and other higher education activities. Funds reported in this section do not include any federal stimulus funding. In addition to data on funding for four-year colleges and universities, the instructions asked states to include:

• Sums appropriated for state aid to local public community colleges, for the operation of state-supported community colleges, and for vocational-technical two-year colleges or institutes that are predominantly for high school graduates and adult students.
• Sums appropriated to statewide coordinating boards or governing boards, either for board expenses or for allocation by the board to other institutions or both.
• Sums appropriated for state scholarships or other student financial aid.
• Sums destined for higher education but appropriated to some other state agency (as in the case of funds intended for faculty fringe benefits that are appropriated to the state treasurer and disbursed by that office).
• Appropriations directed to private institutions of higher education at all levels.

States were asked to exclude:

• Appropriations for capital outlays and debt service.
• Appropriations of sums derived from federal sources, student fees, auxiliary enterprises, and other non-tax sources.

In addition to tax appropriations, this section collected data on other sources of state support for higher education:

• Funding under state auspices for appropriated non-tax state support set aside by the state for higher education. These may include, but are not limited to, monies from lotteries (including lottery scholarships), tobacco settlement funds, or casinos and other gaming.
• Funding under state auspices for non-appropriated state support. These may include, but are not limited to, monies from receipt of lease income, cattle-grazing rights fees, and oil/mineral extraction fees on land set aside by the state for higher education.
• Non-tax sums destined for higher education but appropriated to some other state agency. These may include any non-tax sums appropriated for higher education, but designated to some other state agency.
• Interest or earnings received from state-funded endowments set aside and pledged to public sector institutions.
• Any other state funds not included above.
• Portions of multiyear appropriations from previous years.

Finally, this section of the questionnaire asked for data on (a) appropriations that will, in all likelihood, have to be returned to the state and (b) portions of multiyear appropriations in the current year that are to be spread over other years. Both were subtracted from state totals.

Total state support is derived from the funds reported in this section. The calculation is: Total State Support = Tax Appropriations + Non-Tax Support + Non-Appropriated Support + Endowment + Previous Appropriations + Other Support – Return Appropriations – Multiyear Appropriations.

Section 4. Breakdown of State Support

In this section, states were asked to provide details on the allocation of total state support across different areas. Funds reported in this section do not include any federal stimulus funding. This section was previously used for the SHEF report and was collected for Grapevine for the first time in fiscal year 2022. See the SHEF data definitions for additional information about the following variables, which were collected in this section:

• Agency funding.
• Two-year public operating.
• Four-year public operating.
• Independent (private institution) operating.
• Non-credit appropriations.
• Total state financial aid (includes funding to public, private, and out-of-state institutions).
• Total research, agricultural extension, and medical appropriations (includes research, agricultural experiment and extension, hospital, and medical school appropriations).

States were instructed to include all funds listed in Section 3 in this section. No funds were listed twice, and funds that could not be included in one of the listed categories were listed under “uncategorizable state support.”

Data Uses and Cautions

Grapevine data are presented in their raw form; they are not adjusted for inflation or any other measures of state size, student population, or capacity to fund higher education. The SHEF report, released in late spring each year, offers a more complete examination of trends in total state support for higher education for the most recently completed fiscal year, factoring in inflation and enrollment. Different practices among the 50 states make it impossible to eliminate all inconsistencies and ensure absolute comparability among states and institutions. In addition, the annual percentage changes recorded for each state do not necessarily reflect the annual percentage changes in funding for individual institutions or specific higher education sectors (e.g., community colleges and universities) within states. A number of states include estimates for one or more funding areas in their Grapevine data each year. These estimates are noted in the footnotes of each table. Grapevine data are preliminary and should be treated as such; for almost every state, total state support reported in the Grapevine tables for the current fiscal year will change in some way over the course of the year.