Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education wants a united front when pressing legislators for a third consecutive year for performance funding for state universities.
In a meeting Wednesday, CPE President Bob King said he wants to give legislators a clear option that achieves good for the state. But he says the CPE can’t do it without the legislators help.
“While we would like you to match the amount we are willing to put of our current base at risk, whether that’s 2 percent, 3 percent, 8 percent, whatever it is,” King said. “I think it’s a way of demonstrating good faith to them, whether it’s reciprocated with some good faith back who the hell knows?”
CPE committee members are looking to successful states—Tennessee, Indiana and Mississippi—where at least a portion of funds are tied to outcomes like graduation rate or course completion.
“My hope is that we can end up with a process that allows every campus to feel they’re being treated fairly. Ultimately what we want is every campus to be treated adequately, meeting House Bill 1 (1997), and that through that we can best serve the needs of Kentucky and the people we educate.”
The three examples of performance funding tie state money to positive outcomes like course completion and graduation rate instead of enrollment.
A CPE Funding Model Committee aims to make a decision by the end of the year so they can bring it to legislators during the General Assembly’s January session.
