Performance funding also known as incentive funding was the focus of the Senate Higher Education Committee this afternoon. The Committee held a work session on efforts in the two-year and public, four-year sectors and a public hearing on legislation that would implement a framework for the public baccalaureate sector.

Work Session

This afternoon Evergreen presented before the Senate Higher Education Committee. In a focused presentation before the Committee, John Carmichael, Deputy to the President and member of the Technical Incentive Funding Model Task Force and Laura Coghlan, Director of Institutional Research and Assessment addressed the question posed by the Committee –  How will each institution respond to the goals identified in the public baccalaureate incentive funding model proposal?

In December the Office of Financial Management released a report from the Technical Incentive Funding  Model Task Force. The Task Force was established in the 2013-15 biennial budget to propose an incentive funding model for the four-year institutions of higher education.

The Task Force identified three statewide goals for the public baccalaureate institutions in the report: (1) Increase overall degree production, (2) Increase degree production in STEM/high demand areas, and (3) Increase degree production for students from underrepresented groups.

In the presentation Evergreen spoke to how the College and its mission would strive to play a role in moving the public baccalaureate sector forward within the context of these three goals.  Evergreen highlighted the College’s strengths recognizing that the institution make a strong contribution to the state in the areas of efficient degree production, STEM/High Demand degrees, and degree attainment for underrepresented students.

Within this context, Evergreen recognizes that the College could make additional contributions to the statewide goals identified in the report with additional resources.

In particular, Evergreen identified improvement in the areas of general degree production through investments in retention initiatives; STEM/High Demand degree production through investments in faculty and financial aid; and attainment of underrepresented students through investments in targeted outreach and support for underrepresented minority, non-traditional age, and veterans.

Public Hearing

The Committee also held a public hearing on legislation that would place into statute a performance funding framework for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions.

Senate Bill 6042 would create an incentive funding structure to encourage student success in Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions and provide a funding enhancement of $25 million each fiscal year based on institutional performance towards three statewide goals: (1) the number of degrees produced, (2) number of high demand degrees produced, and (3) number of degrees awarded to underrepresented students.

The Council of Presidents testified in support of a performance funding framework and in the general framework put forward in the bill. However the Council indicated additional conversations were necessary about the specific implementation of the framework.