Arizona’s university funding system could switch to a pay-for-performance model as early as 2013.
Arizona would be the first state to base 100 percent of new money received by state universities on performance, a change from the current funding model that is tied to the number of students enrolled.
“It is going to help the long-term goal of increasing the number of bachelor degrees in the state,” said Katie Paquet, an Arizona Board of Regents spokeswoman. “And it will also show accountability to taxpayers by increasing transparency.”
University funding would instead be based on the school’s performance, including the number of degrees earned at each university, the number of successfully completed credit hours and increases in outside research funding.
Talks about an Arizona performance-based model started more than three years ago when the Lumina Foundation gave money to start what is now known as Getting AHEAD (or Getting Access to Higher Education and Degrees), said Paquet.
“In order for Arizona to compete globally, we must ensure that our students are prepared for and have access to a highly effective and efficient postsecondary education system,” said Gov. Jan Brewer in a press release.
Getting AHEAD aims to increase the number of Arizona adults with college degrees, and is a collaborative effort between Arizona’s state universities, community colleges, K-12 districts, local businesses and the Arizona legislative and executive branches, the initiative states on its website.
“Initiatives such as the Getting AHEAD project are helping to provide state policy makers with useful recommendations to consider,” said Brewer in a press release.
Earlier this year as part of the 2011 budget package passed by the state Legislature, ABOR was required to make a recommendation on a performance-based model by Oct. 1.
“This work is the culmination of a year and a half of planning and presents a solid foundation for a funding formula that is aimed at increasing productivity and efficiency among our state’s universities and provide Arizona with the best return on investment,” said Tom Anderes, president of ABOR and co-chair of Getting AHEAD, in a statement.
ABOR is considering a plan that might start in 2013. It would include a base pay equal to the amount universities receive in 2012, and then performance pay would be added to that.
Over the years, this base will fluctuate to allow for changes such as inflation and cost of living adjustments.
From there, the amount will increase or decrease depending on the performance of the school. To reduce the chance of extreme fluctuation from year to year, the plan calls for a three-year “moving average.” Earned performance funding would be added to the base as long as the university does not backtrack on progress made the previous year.
There are a few problems yet to be resolved with the proposal, according to the Getting AHEAD report. It is unclear how the performance model will quantify changes in quality. Also up for discussion is whether the universities would have the same formula, and whether all three universities would be rewarded equally for things like the percentage increase in degrees awarded or courses completed.
ABOR will discuss how to implement the new higher education funding model at their meeting Aug. 4-5 at Arizona State University. A final recommendation will be made at the September meeting at Northern Arizona University, before the Oct. 1 presentation to the Legislature.
• Contact writer: (480) 898-5645 or sspring@evtrib.com
davidflucier posted at 6:30 am on Mon, Jul 25, 2011.
Perhaps it's time to hold our State's prison system to the same standard now that it gets state funding that far exceeds our State's university system. The prisons get paid based upon them lowering the recidivism rate...the lower the rate, the more they get paid! Or perhaps we should cut their funding so they are forced to do a better job...become more efficient.
asuaguila posted at 10:47 am on Mon, Jul 25, 2011.
The increase in research funding is a logical and sound objective. But the rest of the paradigm based on more degrees and credit hours means pressure on faculty to pass marginal and undeserving students.
What is missing is "quality control." Students today are reluctant to read and are missing basic skills that we took for granted a generation ago. For example, cashiers do not know how to give back change; students don't know the difference between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
samkat posted at 3:49 pm on Mon, Jul 25, 2011.
No David: they need to be holding the private prisons accountable. By the way, where do you get your information about DOC pay being based on the more recidivism they report? You need to to a fact check before making such statements. My son works for DOC and I do not know of any pay raises for them recently. They have strict operating budgets and the idiots in the legislature who keep harping about less government and less involvement in our lives are doing neither but they do seem to take care of themselves quite well.
samkat posted at 3:50 pm on Mon, Jul 25, 2011.
PS: I will believe there is progress when I see the university presidents and senior staff held to the same standards as their underlings.
Suelee posted at 6:08 pm on Wed, Jul 27, 2011.
On June 16, this paper reported that the AZ Reagents had approved a 5 year contract for Michael Crow with a base salary of $475,000, he also gets $85,000 in pension benefits, a $10,000 car allowance, a $50,000 housing allowance, and $100,000 from the ASU foundation. ASU could hire more than 11 new faculty members at $65,000 per year for what they are compensating Crow. Is Crow worth 11 faculty members? I think not. The average taxpayer probably thinks that smaller classes, high quality research, and community service that are produced by faculty outweighs the bloated administrative costs that ASU is known for and that Crow's outrageous compensation exemplifies. Pay-for-performance is not the issue, bloated administrative costs are.
DrJCA1 posted at 8:39 pm on Wed, Jul 27, 2011.
While great in concept, in reality however, this will simply push the colleges into the same realm of "body shop" mentality as our K-12 schools now have. The colleges will simply push the kids though and graduate more of them, even though most students cannot read or write, speak intelligently, spell, count or even hold a normal conversation. The younger generation is attached at the hip to their electronic toys, have little to no social skills (unless its on some stupid thing like facebook), whine about having homework assignments which require some time (too busy drinking, texting, and carousing), and since so many of them have overindulgent - but not really involved - parents who pay the bills, no one will care. The dumbing down of America continues.
Suelee posted at 10:14 am on Thu, Jul 28, 2011.
Pay for performance (at any level of education) places ALL of the responsibility for learning on educators. Where is the responsibility of the student in this formula? If a student refuses to do assignments, arrive on-time to class, prepared for the class, and pay attention in class, then they bear no responsibility for their lack of learning???