When Pennsylvania's new Republican governor Tom Corbett proposed slashing higher education funding by 54% earlier this year, he was immediately met with protests from students, parents and faculty.
The 54% cut -- which would have been the largest ever by a state -- has since been scaled back to a still-staggering 19% cut to Penn State, Temple, Pitt and Lincoln universities.
Another 14 state-owned colleges will see their funding cut 18%.
"It clearly means the burden of college costs are continually shifting from the state to the student," said Steve Hicks, president of a union representing professors at Pennsylvania public colleges.
Earlier this year, Penn State President Graham Spanier indicated that steep funding cuts could mean layoffs, salary freezes and shutdowns at some of its campuses.
