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.
Paper recommends specific strategies for effective stakeholder engagement based on work in multiple states and leading research in the field of outcomes-based funding.
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.
An infographic guide to outcomes-based funding models.
We support a national expansion of learning that measures academic progress based on demonstrations of what people know and can do.
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.
We have a saying at Lumina Foundation that’s become something of a mantra: “It’s all about the learning.” This mantra isn’t a quip about our own penchant for trial and error (though there’s a fair bit of that here, as there is in any organization). No, when we say: “It’s about the learning,” we’re stating […]
When we say: “It’s about the learning,” we’re stating that educational quality shouldn’t be measured by a list of courses taken or grades earned or even the time students spend in classrooms.
Kevin Corcoran leads Lumina Foundation's strategic communications team. Before assuming this role in late 2016, he spent eight years overseeing design and policy work that promoted development of new higher education business and finance models. His areas of expertise include competency-based learning, state authorization of online degree programs, and outcomes-based funding.
The U.S. government is making massive investments to update America’s infrastructure so we can meet some of the biggest challenges of this century: addressing climate change, improving economic competitiveness, and safeguarding our supply chain.