Resource Archive

One set of policy decisions that higher education advocates are calling into question is how state leaders allocate resources and funds. A new report by The Education Trust analyzes how well existing state policies address equity concerns and makes recommendations for designing and implementing outcomes-based funding (OBF) policies that better advance equity.

In the U.S. higher education system, community colleges are heavy lifters: while they make up only about a quarter of the nation’s postsecondary institutions, they serve nearly half of all undergraduate students. But when it comes to evaluating the performance of two-year institutions, traditional outcomes metrics can provide an incomplete picture, failing to account for…

Giving more state money to public colleges that perform well on a number of desired outcomes, such as credit completion or graduation rates and retention rewards colleges with strong results.

Outcomes-based funding, in which some states link a portion of their funding for public colleges to a performance formula emphasizing metrics on completion, equity, employment, or other measures,  is a high-stakes, complex policy.

As this report describes, there is plenty of evidence that points to both the benefits and drawbacks of performance funding policies. This evidence is being used to put forth a number of recommendations to improve the design and function of performance funding at the state level. And many of the recommendations put forth are also…

This brief tells the story of Indiana’s efforts to develop and implement outcomes-based funding (OBF) for public postsecondary education. Indiana’s story is supplemented by a briefer description of efforts in Tennessee.

Concerned with low on-time graduation rates, some state lawmakers are turning to outcomes-based funding as one policy approach to support postsecondary degree attainment and workforce goals.

State financial aid programs are failing to keep pace with today’s changing college-going population, contends a new report from Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success. As a result, many nontraditional adult students are left behind. To better meet the needs of these students, the report recommends prioritizing need-based state aid, making eligibility rules more inclusive…

This paper provides a conceptual framework that examines the interrelationship between state and institutional finance policies, including state appropriations, tuition and financial aid. It explores how state higher education goals can be advanced through outcomes-based funding policies that provide incentives for institutional behavior, and how policies can be designed to maximize student success.

Higher education, depending who you talk to, is a generator and transmitter of knowledge, a provider of opportunity and social mobility, a trainer of skilled workers for employers, a driver of economic development or any or all of the above. But alongside its lofty goals, it is also a big, complex $600 billion business that…

Policymakers are moving to outcomes-based funding in an effort to inspire public higher education institutions to drive the transformative change required to expand access, increase graduation rates and contain costs. For outcomes-based funding to have a significant effect on student outcomes, system and institutional leaders must successfully translate these policies into action. In an effort…

State governments serve as a key-funding source for public higher education. Outcomes-based funding is an alternative to other methods of state allocations to institutions, such as base-plus funding, enrollment-based funding, and early performance-centered funding.

Understanding complex labor markets including the demand for skills is key to guiding our investments in education and training. This is especially true for community colleges responsible for preparing a significant portion of the nation’s workers. These institutions are being increasingly challenged to better align their programs of study with entire economies undergoing restructuring and…

No state has done more than Tennessee to shift state higher education funding to reflect outcomes rather than inputs. In other states, most of the core funding for higher education, including tuition and state appropriations, flows to colleges based on student enrollment.

This is a time of great challenge and opportunity for American higher education. The challenges are well-established and widely acknowledged: escalating standards for economic competitiveness, coupled with a severe economic downturn and protracted recovery, require broad access to relevant postsecondary education, training and retooling as never before, but stagnant state funding and surging student demand…

Each year, more states are adopting policies to incent and support improvements in postsecondary student success and equitable outcomes through the effective use of quality data. Particularly as the target dates for national higher education attainment goals grow nearer, state economies are in need of more college-educated workers, and budgets continue to be severely constrained,…

When the idea of tying appropriations for the public universities in Texas to performance funding first emerged, there was one exception to the opposition from the higher-education establishment: the state’s technical colleges. The 50-year-old Texas State Technical College System jumped at the opportunity to prove its worth to lawmakers and the public.

Recent years have seen rapid increases in both the need and demand for higher education, just as the economic downturn has placed increasing pressure on state higher education budgets. These trends and others have converged to inspire state policy- makers, the coordinating and governing boards for higher education, and other stakeholders to consider ways to…

Improving institutional outcomes and degree production, keeping college tuition affordable, and meeting state economic needs through postsecondary education are among the higher education issues likely to dominate state debates in 2016, says this policy brief from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

A detailed review of four different outcomes-based funding models leads to some central conclusions for policymakers in this arena.

Paper recommends specific strategies for effective stakeholder engagement based on work in multiple states and leading research in the field of outcomes-based funding.

An examination of higher ed funding models as applied to real-life students, many of whom are racial and ethnic minorities, from low-income families, or the first in their families to enroll in higher education.

An infographic guide to outcomes-based funding models.

A working paper from the Community College Research Center identifies and analyzes the “deliberative structures” used by colleges and universities to respond to performance funding demands and the factors that aid or hinder in their success. The paper uses data from telephone interviews with more than 200 college personnel at nine community colleges and nine…

A new report from the Community College Research Center examines how states developing performance funding systems can support public colleges and universities so that these institutions have the capacity to identify and analyze barriers to student completion.

Performance-based funding, free community college, tuition policy, state appropriations, education benefits for veterans, and undocumented students are among the most pressing higher education issues for 2015, according to this policy brief from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

College students in Utah are taking longer to graduate from four-year institutions than their peers nationwide, says a report from the Utah Foundation. The study includes a set of “potential game-changers” that it says might help reverse this trend, such as the use of performance-based funding, added guidance, and structured course schedules.