Even after states bounce back from economic recessions, access to higher education continues to suffer because appropriations for colleges and financial aid do not recover as quickly as the states\' economies as a whole, a report released on Monday says. The report, \"Recession, Retrenchment, and Recovery: State Higher Education Funding & Student Financial Aid,\" is based on a study of data from a 25-year period, from 1979 to 2004, by the Illinois State University Center for the Study of Education Policy. It shows how downturns in the national economy cause states to cut higher-education appropriations, which contributes to increases in tuition. In turn, family income and student aid tend not to keep up with the rate of growth of tuition. Ross A. Hodel, a co-director of the center, said that of the four recessions that occurred during the study period, the 2001 slowdown hit higher education the hardest and had the most long-lasting effect. He also said a mind-set has emerged in state governments that higher education is a personal benefit rather than a public good, and that students should be willing to shoulder the financial burden in order to realize that benefit.