Examination of the relationship between fundraising and change in state support was based on an understanding of public choice theory, which is rooted in political economy and used to determine societal preferences for resource allocation through the legislative process. to achieve maximum social benefits (Herber, 1983). The theory evolved over time with the seminal research of Buchanan and Tullock (1967) examining individual economic preferences manifested through the political system, thereby establishing an approach to analyzing political decision-making. In the context of the proposed research questions, public choice theory focuses on the cost of decision making in terms of offsetting increases in fundraising to achieve consensus. This includes the direct cost involved in whether or not to fund higher education, the opportunity costs of negotiations within the political process, and trade-offs between competing public demands (Herber, 1983). Society could adopt non-strategic behavior in order to enable collective decisions (Herber). The costs of decision-making become the result of public choice negotiation aimed at reaching an agreement; Public choice involves making decisions in a dynamic context that higher education is a public good, particularly when examining the relationship between fundraising and state support (Buchanan & Tullock, 1967) . Constitutional economics Within public choice theory is the concept of constitutional economics which accounts for the rules relating to the legislative process which limit the role of government and the scope of its decisions (Buchanan and Tullock, 1967). Buchanan and Tullock (1967) adopted the operational stage of rulemaking that arises from constitutional limitations. The proposed budget...... middle of paper ...... supports the college's mission. At the opposite end of the continuum is unconstrained vision. The unconstrained view believes that people's nature and institutions can be improved (Sowell, 1987). The unconstrained view welcomes direct government intervention for the good of society (Sowell, 1987). Comparing Sowell's view to public choice theory, there are many similarities between the unconstrained view and how an individual categorizes higher education as a public good (Sowell, 1987; Ostrom, 1975). This research aims to find the relationship between the evolution of fundraising and the evolution of public financing of higher education. In an effort to determine how policymakers choose to fund higher education, recognizing policymakers' views of people and institutions will help to understand how they may respond to funding scenarios...