The politics of performance funding for higher education : origins, discontinuations, and transformations / Kevin J. Dougherty and Rebecca S. Natow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dougherty, Kevin James, author.

Natow, Rebecca S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Government aid to higher education.

Universities and colleges--United States--Finance.

Universities and colleges.

United States.

Finance.

Education, Higher--Economic aspects--United States.

Education, Higher.

Education, Higher--Economic aspects.

Universities and colleges--Finance.

Physical Description:

viii, 260 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press , 2015.

Summary:

"Performance funding ties state support of colleges and universities directly to institutional performance on specific outcomes, including retention, number of credits accrued, graduation, and job placement. The theory is that introducing market-like forces will prod institutions to become more efficient and effective. In The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education, Kevin J. Dougherty and Rebecca S. Natow explore the sometimes puzzling evolution of this mode of funding higher education. Drawing on an eight-state study of performance funding in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington, Dougherty and Natow shed light on the social and political factors affecting the origins, evolution, and demise of these programs. Their findings uncover patterns of frequent adoption, discontinuation, and re-adoption.Of the thirty-six states that have ever adopted performance funding, two-thirds discontinued it, although many of those later re-adopted it. Even when performance funding programs persist over time, they can undergo considerable changes in both the amount of state funding and in the indicators used to allocate funding. Yet performance funding continues to attract interest from federal and state officials, state policy associations, and major foundations as a way of improving educational outcomes.The authors explore the various forces, actors, and motives behind the adoption, discontinuation, and transformation of performance funding programs. They compare U.S. programs to international models, and they gauge the likely future of performance funding, given the volatility of the political forces driving it. Aimed at educators, sociologists, political scientists, and policy makers, this book will be hailed as the definitive assessment of the origins and evolution of performance funding"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

Conundrums of Performance Funding 3

Research Questions and a Preview of Methods and Perspectives 4

Chapter Contents and Preview of Findings 8

2 Putting U.S. Performance Funding in Context 12

Conceptualizing Accountability 12

Accountability to State Government 13

State Finance of Higher Education as Accountability 14

The Use of Performance Outcomes in State Funding 15

Contextualizing U.S. Performance Funding 17

Summary and Conclusions 25

3 The Varying Trajectories of Higher Education Performance Funding Programs 27

How Many States Have Adopted Performance Funding? 27

Two Waves of Performance Funding Adoption 29

Different Stages of Performance Funding 29

Varying Trajectories of Performance Funding 36

Synopses of the Performance Funding Programs in Our Eight States 38

Summary and Conclusions 50

4 Origins of the First Wave of State Performance Funding Adoptions / Rachel Hare Bork Bork, Rachel Hare, Sosanya M. Jones Jones, Sosanya M., Blanca E. Vega Vega, Blanca E. 52

Explaining the Rise of State Performance Funding 52

Theoretical Perspectives 54

Research Methods 60

Broad-Based Social Forces Giving Rise to Performance Funding 60

Supporters of Performance Funding and Their Motives 63

Opponents and Their Beliefs 72

Coalition Formation: The Role of Policy Entrepreneurs 76

Identification of Policy Solutions 78

Agenda Setting: Policy Windows and External Shocks 85

Summary and Conclusions 88

5 Incremental Change in Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee 91

Selection of Cases and Interviews 92

Theoretical Framework 93

Incremental Change in Funding Levels for Performance Funding 97

Incremental Change in Performance Indicators 105

Summary and Conclusions 115

6 Performance Funding Discontinued: Lessons from Florida, Illinois, Missouri, and Washington 117

Research and Theoretical Perspectives 119

Factors Contributing to Performance Funding Program Discontinuation 125

Risk Factors for Performance Funding Discontinuation: In Theory and Practice 137

Summary and Conclusions 138

7 Origins of the Second Wave of Performance Funding Adoptions / Sosanya M. Jones Jones, Sosanya M., Hana Lahr Lahr, Hana, Lara Pheatt Pheatt, Lara, Vikasb Reddy Reddy, Vikasb 142

Objectives and Theoretical Perspectives 143

Research Methods and Data Sources 144

Broad-Based Social Forces Giving Rise to the Wave 2 Programs 144

Advocacy Coalitions Supporting Performance Funding 146

Muted Opposition 152

Formation of the Supporting Coalitions: The Role of Policy Entrepreneurs 157

Identification of Policy Solutions 161

Policy Windows Opening the Way for PF 2.0 165

Similarities and Differences in the Origins of Wave 1 and 2 Programs 168

Summary and Conclusions 170

8 Summary and Conclusions 173

Summary of Findings 173

Research and Theory Implications 179

What Is the Likely Future of Performance Funding? 186

Appendix: Research Questions, Theoretical Perspectives, and Research Methods 197

Research Questions 197

Theoretical Perspectives 198

Research Methods 202.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781421416908

1421416905

OCLC:

894935887

Online:

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