Despite funding cuts, Ohio colleges thriving

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COLUMBUS — Despite facing a decline of state support for higher education funding, colleges and universities across Ohio are spending more than ever before thanks to growing enrollment, rising tuition and alternative funding sources.

The proposed 2012 state funding for higher education is back to levels last seen in 1999, according to a Cox Media Group Ohio budget analysis. The 13 percent drop in school funding comes from the loss of $589 million in stimulus money that state colleges and universities received to help weather the economic downturn. That funding is not in Gov. John Kasich’s budget plan.

SpringfieldNews-Sun.com