A rigorous analysis of the impact—and implications—of performance funding for higher
education. Seeking greater accountability in higher education, many states have adopted
performance funding, tying state financial support of colleges and universities directly to
institutional performance based on specific outcomes such as student retention,
progression, and graduation. Now in place in over thirty states, performance funding for
higher education has been endorsed by the US Department of Education and major funders …

Since the 1970s, federal and state policy-makers have become increasingly concerned with
improving higher education performance. In this quest, state performance funding for higher
education has become widely used. As of June 2014, twenty-six states were operating
performance funding programs and four more have programs awaiting implementation. This
article reviews the forms, extent, origins, implementation, impacts (intended and
unintended), and policy prospects of performance funding. Performance funding has …

Background/Context Performance funding finances public higher education institutions
based on outcomes such as retention, course and degree completion, and job placement
rather than inputs such as enrollments. One of the mysteries of state performance funding for
higher education is that despite great interest in it for over 30 years, only half of all states
have ever adopted it. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study
examines the political forces that have driven the development of performance funding in …