In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education research, the intersection of performance-based funding policy, export control laws, and research endeavors presents a complex web of challenges and opportunities. This dissertation explores this intricate interplay through two distinct yet interconnected lenses. The first paper, a law review…

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies that closely link higher education funding to performance metrics are common in the United States. Similar to other performance management systems, evidence suggests PBF policies have unintended impacts, such as cream-skimming. More specifically, evidence shows the fiscal incentives of PBF encourage…

As part of the national agenda of accountability, state governments established performance funding policy to hold public institutions accountable for their performance. Accountability allows state policymakers to incentivize institutions to address state demands of increasing graduation rates in return for performance allocations. Although the…

Private postsecondary education leaders are concerned with the value of education and the benefits students receive after graduation. Federal regulations dictate that private postsecondary education institutions will not qualify for Title IV funds if they do not meet minimum student outcome requirements, including cohort default rates and 90/10…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine how best a Tennessee 4-year public university can perform under the state's outcomes-based funding formula, most commonly identified as either PF 2.0 or the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA) funding formula. Using a mixed methods approach, the research analyzed select input variable performance…

The research examines whether and how performance-based funding formulas adopted by state policymakers for their public colleges and universities influence administrative behavior, both across and within institutions in states where the formulas are in place. The research builds from the public management literature and argues that despite the…

The impact of the pandemic has once again pushed higher education institutions to the limit, forcing many private not-for-profit institutions to rethink their budgeting plans. As students consider alternative options to college, become more selective in their academic study, and seek greater resources, institutions will have to make difficult…

The purpose and outcome of this study was to provide insight into clearly articulated parameters that might serve as a basis for the development of a generalizable outcomes-based funding model that any higher education system could use. Funding models were analyzed and telephone interviews were conducted from the ten states that were identified by…

Performance funding, the automatic and formulaic association of specific resources to institutional results on designated indicators, grew out of the accountability movement in higher education that originated in the 1950s and 1960s and redefined itself as the "new accountability" in the 1990s. To date, much of the literature on…

During the 2004 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 189 (SB189), which established the first system of college vouchers in the United States. The supporters of SB189 hoped that the voucher system, called the College Opportunity Fund (COF), would: 1) stabilize the flow of state funding to higher education; 2)…

This thesis is a combination of two papers studying the effect of state funding for higher education on the price of education and student enrollment at institutions. The first paper evaluates the effectiveness of student aid in decreasing the price of higher education by investigating what portion of student aid dollars reach targeted students…

This dissertation addresses the consequences of political influence on state higher education funding at the committee level. The State of South Carolina has a long history of using a formula to determine the appropriate amount of funding that is to be allocated to its colleges and universities. I use the funding level implied by the South…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine perceptions of state legislators regarding funding of public higher education in the State of Missouri. To this end, I sought to determine how Missouri legislators perceive the purpose of higher education and the role the state government should play in funding it. The concept that higher…

This research examined the funding request process whereby higher education institutions seek financial support from state government. The study tested whether a model based on state goals and priorities for higher education could distinguish a funded request from an unfunded request. The research was qualitative and followed a comparative case…