Kentucky’s public universities could receive money based on their performance under a new initiative being developed by the Council on Postsecondary Education.
Under the proposal, universities that award more degrees and graduate more minority or low-income students could be eligible to receive more money from the agency, said Council President Bob King noting that the initiative is not yet finalized.The pool of money that would be distributed under this plan would be only a small portion of the over $900 million the council distributes to universities annually, he says. But it would require more revenue for higher education, which saw 6.4 percent cuts last time around.King says several states have a similar model of funding public higher education intuitions but it’s too early to tell if it’s working.“It’s still too new to know whether or not this model is actually effective at stimulating improved campus performance," he says.There will be plenty of requests from agencies and departments this year when the General Assembly goes into session to set the biennial budget in January. King says he’s requesting new money for this plan, and $15 million should do it.Not all schools are on board, though King says the University of Louisville does support the plan. This will be the second time the council will pitch the idea to state legislators. The first time was in 2011 and under that proposal schools would not have competed against each other, but instead would have received funds based on meeting certain goals.(Image via Shutterstock)
