My impression was that states were essentially holding overall funding flat at the same time a higher proportion of the population is trying to get a college de

My impression was that states were essentially holding overall funding flat at the same time a higher proportion of the population is trying to get a college degree. I haven't been able to find a really good source to back that up, but it's certainly true that the percent of the population with college degrees has been rising over time. (See the chart at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Educational_Attainment_in_the_United_States_2009.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_attainment_in_the_... for example.)