Urges governing boards at public colleges and universities to support budgeting for performance as a means of assuring public accountability while protecting academic autonomy. Considers performance incentives, the role of performance indicators, the distinction between performance funding and performance budgeting, possible problems, and the role…

Plattsburgh State University's six-point program for mastering adversity is presented as a model for others. The six points include: a clear mission, an administrative organization designed for managing resources, a realistic enrollment plan, reallocation of internal resources, a staff development program, and an effective governance system. (MLW)

Performance funding for public colleges is attractive to state policymakers but volatile and difficult to implement. It requires levels of collaboration, cooperation, patience, and persistence unusual in state government and a commitment to institutional goals, performance standards, and coordinated activities rare in academic governance. However,…

Summaries of the design, planning, and implementation of performance funding programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington reveal the challenges and opportunities of this reform approach. Performance measures and objectives and the history of the program in each…

Performance indicators used for state funding, past and present, of public colleges in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington are reviewed to explore their intent and implications and to provide information for policymakers considering introducing or revising…

This report presents findings of the third annual survey of state programs that link funding to campus performance, either in the form of performance budgeting or performance funding. The survey found that 30 states now have at least one of these two types of programs, up from 26 states the previous year, although some earlier programs have been…

Describes performance funding as a relatively new approach that links tax support to institutional results from performance indicators chosen by the state. Under result-based funding, states consider efficiency and effectiveness as a basis for funding two- and four-year schools. Budgeting shifts from what states should do for their colleges toward…

Eight common objections to performance funding of public colleges are presented and answered. The arguments focus on the complexity of higher education's goals, diversity of institution type, subjectivity of educational quality, relative power of the allocation amounts linked to performance measures, politics of resource allocation, cost of…

Policy strategies implemented at the State University of New York in response to enrollment decline and financial cutbacks are considered. The following areas are addressed: institutional mission, administrative organization, enrollment plan, method of reallocating resources, a systematic program for staff development, program evaluation,…