Massive cuts in state funding aren't helping the rising costs of college tuition.(Photo: Getty Images)Story HighlightsHigher-education funding down 30% or more in 15 states since 2007Cuts lead to higher tuition, staff layoffsStates adjusting to more strategic spendingThe start of a new school year is punctuated by what's become a new financial norm for public universities: massive cuts in state funding that lead to rising tuition, cuts in enrollment, sporadic class schedules and staff layoffs.Despite some recent tuition freezes for the 2013-14 school year, public universities continue to suffer from significant spending cuts by their own states. The state funding cuts are the primary driver of tuition inflation in recent years, education experts say.Between 2007 and 2012, 15 states have experienced declines in higher-education funding per full-time student of nearly 30% or more, according to a report on higher-education financing put out by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association earlier this year. Since the recession, 48 states have cut state appropriations while just two have increased funding.How schools respond to the cuts usually leads them to consider three options, says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the Edvisors.com network of college financial planning sites."They increase tuition, they shift enrollment from in-state students to out-of-state and international students, who pay higher out-of-state tuition, and they cut enrollments so that each student gets the same size slice of the pie of funding," he says.This also often leads to staff cuts and classes being offered less frequently, making it harder for students to get into required courses and graduate on time, he says.Meanwhile, tuition has soared, and students and their families are funding more of the cost of their educations. Trying to reverse these problems, President Obama described his plans to help lower the cost of college on a three-campus, two-day bus tour last month.The…

Shares of Verizon Communications jumped 3% Thursday as the U.K.'s Vodafone confirmed that it has resumed talks to sell its shares of Verizon Wireless to Verizon.Verizon, a telecom giant that sells Internet, TV and phone service, owns 55% of Verizon Wireless and has wanted to buy the rest for years. It is looking to pay around $100 billion but Vodafone wants about $130 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the resumption of their negotiation.Verizon's desire to fully own the wireless subsidiary by buying the 45% stake it doesn't own has intensified in recent years as consumers' demand for all things mobile grows unabated, particularly in data usage and video streaming."Vodafone notes the recent press speculation and confirms that it is in discussions with Verizon Communications regarding the possible disposal of Vodafone's U.S. group whose principal asset is its 45% interest in Verizon Wireless," Vodafone said in a statement Thursday. "There is no certainty that an agreement will be reached."In heavy trading Thursday, Verizon shares rose 3%. Vodafone shares leaped 7.7%.Verizon shares zipped to about $47 shortly around 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, after the published report, then slid back below $46.80 within an hour. Still, that was higher than the day's close of $46.56, which was down 39 cents or 0.8%.Verizon was said to be talking with banks able to finance the potential $100 billion-plus deal. "Interest rates are going up and that could be the driver," said Roger Entner, a wireless industry analyst at Recon Analytics. "Financing the deal becomes increasingly expensive. Verizon might be willing to give a little more in expectation of higher rates."In April, British publications reported that the two companies were about to pull the trigger on the huge deal, and that Verizon had lined up banks and lawyers to handle the…

Harold Tennen lives with a big Hollywood star. It's his black 1965 Lincoln Continental convertible.It's an amazing car, a moving piece of midcentury design, repleat with the best of the day -- leather, steel and aluminum. "If someone want to know what America was, you show them cars like this," he says.Tennen didn't set out to own an entertainment industry icon. He simply adored 1960s Lincoln Continentals, having owned a 1964 model when he was in his 20s.One day he took it in for service and it just happened that the hit HBO show Entourage was filming across the street. One of the show's workers noticed that Tennen's car was identical to the one they had been using for the show, one in which there were concerns about a finicky owner.So Tennen says it is his car that was used for the rest of the series. The car is driven by one of the entertainment industry characters. With its newfound stardom, there are plenty interested in buying the icon, he says. He says he has turned down $100,000 offers. The stars of the show have signed the inside of the glove compartment cover.But that would have meant losing the ability to take the car for pleasure cruises and feel the accolades of just about everyone he encounters. "When I'm driving, I get the thumbs up" from lots of onlookers, Tennen says....