Author: Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board, Olympia

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 37

ISBN-13:

The 2004 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education identified clear and measurable goals that focused on outcomes rather than inputs alone. To reinforce this outcomes-based approach, the plan proposed that the state develop a new funding method to reward public colleges and universities for student success. Specifically, it proposed that the state allocate higher education funding based on enrollment in the 2005-07 biennium and then transform the funding system beginning with the 2007-09 biennium. The board outlined four potential approaches to implementing the new system: (1) Performance contracts that involve a formal pact between the state and an institution that spell out the obligations of both parties; (2) Budget provisos that would define legislative expectations for a college or university in terms of degrees and performance targets rather than enrollment levels; (3) Calculating enrollment levels at the time of course completion rather than on the 10th day of classes; and (4) Changing the criteria for selecting high-demand programs for funding from delivering enrollments to producing results.