The Changing Nature of Public Support for Higher Education in the United States

Abstract

The higher education system in the United States is distinguished from those of many other countries by two characteristics: 1) there is a long and significant history of private institutions of higher education; and 2) public higher education is largely governed and controlled by state governments, rather than by the federal government. The first colleges in the nation were private institutions founded during the colonial era, beginning with Harvard College in 1636. It was almost 150 years later that the first truly public institutions began to be created. Today, approximately 75 per cent of all postsecondary students are enrolled in public institutions of higher education (National Center for Education Statistics 2003a).