Guidelines Suggested for State Policy

States need to take specific steps during the recession to assure access to higher education, says a statement released Tuesday by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The policies endorsed by the center include: admitting all eligible students, using pre-recession admissions criteria; barring practices -- such as moving up application deadlines -- that may discourage the enrollment of disadvantaged students; adopting budgets that do not disproportionately hurt institutions that serve many disadvantaged students; seeking budget plans for states that do not cut higher education more than other units of state government.