Unlocking State Higher Ed Funding: The Role of Cooperative Educational Services

For FY 2025, higher ed funding by states rose by 4.3% and by about a third from five years ago, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). However, these figures are not adjusted for inflation. The Commonfund Institute’s latest Higher Education Price Index showed costs rising 3.4%, meaning for many academic institutions, state support is relatively flat.

Nebraska and Kansas saw increases greater than 18%. Five other states saw increases of 10%. However, those were the exceptions. Twenty states saw declines in state support. While the end of federal stimulus funding impacted these totals, it didn’t account for all of the declines. Nine states showed lower funding levels excluding stimulus funds.

Add this to the current uncertain environment from federal funding, shakeups at the U.S. Department of Education, and reduced research grants from the National Institutes of Health, and it’s clear that academic institutions must look for innovative solutions to reduce spending.

In this environment, cooperative educational services like E&I can be powerful allies to help you unlock significant savings and drive mission-aligned procurement. By leveraging demand across nearly 6,000 academic institutions, simplifying purchasing and ensuring compliance, E&I can help you maximize higher ed funding by state.

How Cooperative Educational Services Help Maximize State Funding

An education cooperative can play a crucial role in helping better position you to secure and deploy higher ed funding by states. Here are just a few ways:

• Streamlined procurement pathways: Cooperative contracts are competitively solicited and comply with public purchasing requirements, aligning with state regulations and speeding up project approvals.
• Accelerated implementation: With pre-vetted suppliers and ready-to-use contracts, you can kick off initiatives quickly and avoid delays that put funding at risk.
• Improved grant eligibility: Many state grants require proof of procurement compliance. An education-focused cooperate understands these requirements, helping you fulfill grant requirements more easily.
• Administrative efficiency: Finance and procurement teams benefit from a reduced administrative burden.
• Transparency and accountability: Cooperative contracts are structured for public sector integrity, providing a clear audit trail and cost justification.
• Cost control and risk mitigation: Contracts are negotiated with volume-based pricing and performance guarantees, ensuring value and reducing risk.
  
  

Providing a Strategic Advantage

Beyond tactical support, cooperative educational services can drive long-term strategic value. Institutions can align their purchasing decisions with broader institutional priorities, such as sustainability, digital transformation, and diversity initiatives, by working with suppliers that share these values.

Cooperative agreements typically span years, which allows you to benefit from stable, long-term partnerships. Because these contracts represent a large portion of a supplier’s business, they are more likely to invest in the partnership, working collaboratively so solve problems and maximize your spend. This often results in greater insight into product development and innovative solutions that align with your goals.

When you partner with E&I Cooperative Services, you get access to a team of procurement professional and category specialists who can help you get the most value out of your contracts. With significant purchasing power through the combined demand of members, E&I competitively solicits top-tier suppliers. This results in access to a broad selection of suppliers, many of whom might not respond to RFPs for individual schools.

Common categories for purchasing, utilizing cooperative educational services, include:

• Athletics
• Facilities & MRO
• Financial Services
• Food & Food Services
• Information Technology (IT)
• Logistics & Travel
• Office & Classroom, Interiors
• Professional, Consulting & Administrative Services
• Research & Scientific
  
  

Aligning Higher Ed Funding with Institutional Missions and Cost Savings

Here are a few examples of how colleagues have utilized E&I Cooperative Services at their institutions:

• The University of Pittsburgh brought more spend under contact with E&I’s Medline contract, resulting in a 25% discount on Medline products along with discounts on branded items.
• Louis University utilized cooperative contracts for new fitness equipment, getting dedicated support and up-front pricing.
• Prince George’s Community College adopted an AI-driven solution designed to identify and eliminate fraudulent applications from the admissions process.
• The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) at William & Mary saved $76,000 with a specialty equipment maintenance contract.
• Southern Virginia University worked with an E&I supplier to purchase a new freezer for food services.

If you would like to explore how E&I Cooperative Services can help you optimize your higher education funding, reduce costs, and streamline administration, contact our procurement specialists online or by calling 1.877.MYEANDI (877.693.2634).