NH gives least to higher education of any state in US, report says

For every person who lives in New Hampshire, the state contributes $63.19 to support public higher education. Comparatively speaking, that makes New Hampshire the worst in the nation. The state that ranks 49th, Arizona, offers nearly double what New Hampshire does, with $125.64 in state appropriations per capita. Only 15 states contribute fewer than $200 per person to higher education, with New Hampshire lagging furthest behind, according to 2012 data collected by Illinois State University. The University System of New Hampshire presents that argument – a lack of state funding for higher education, highlighted by a unprecedented 49 percent cut last summer – as the key reason for rising tuition costs in recent years. University of New Hampshire President Mark Huddleston said it would take an enormous increase in state funding just for New Hampshire to climb out of the country’s cellar and into the No. 49 ranking. “It takes money,” he said. “The folks in Concord have to be willing.” However, the state increased its appropriation 65 percent over 15 years, from 1994-2009, and tuition costs soared. During that period at UNH, the cost of attendance went up 147 percent for in-state students and 113 percent for out-of-state students.