Outcomes Based Funding and Race in Higher Education


Book Description

This book examines how Performance or Outcomes Based Funding (POBF) policies impact racial equity in higher education. Over the last decade, higher education has become entrenched in a movement that holds colleges and universities more accountable to its supporters. There are pressures to answer questions about student outcomes and performance, the value of education, the effectiveness of instructors, and the ability of existing leaders to manage efficiently and effectively. It is within this climate that states have adopted POBF policies. Through POBF, public colleges and universities receive state funding through formulas that no longer rely solely on student enrollment, but are instead based on student outcomes. This book provides an overview for policymakers of how racial equity has been addressed, the impact of these approaches, and recommendations for moving forward.







The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education


Book Description

"One of the striking ways in which state governments have pursued better performance in public higher education is through the use of performance funding. Performance funding involves tying state support directly to institutional performance on specific outcomes such as rates of graduation and job placement. The principal rationale for performance funding has been that the introduction of market-like forces will prod institutions to become more efficient, delivering "more bang for the buck." Kevin Dougherty, an expert on state performance funding, finds its development puzzling. First, despite the great interest in it, only half the states have ever adopted performance funding for higher education. Moreover, of the states that did adopt performance funding, over half later dropped it. Finally, in the states that have retained performance funding over a long period of time, their programs have undergone considerable changes in the amount of state funding they devote to performance funding and in the content of the indicators they use to allocate that funding. In spite of this, performance funding continues to attract interest as a way of improving educational outcomes. This book, based on an extensive ten-state study, aims to shed light on the social and political factors affecting the origins, evolution, and demise of these programs"--




Higher Education Accountability


Book Description

Beginning with the earliest efforts to regulate schools, the author reveals the rationale behind accountability and outlines the historical development of how US federal and state policies, accreditation practices, private-sector interests, and internal requirements have become so important to institutional success and survival




Financing Public Universities


Book Description

This crucial book addresses newer practices of resource allocation which tie university funding to indicators of performance. It covers the evolvement of mass higher education and the associated curtailment of funding, the public management reform debate within which performance-based budgeting or funding evolved, and sketches alternative governance and management modes which can be used instead. Four appendices cover more technical matters.




Positioning Higher Education Institutions


Book Description

Higher education is of growing public and political importance for society and the economy. Globalisation is transforming it from a local and national concern into one of international significance. In order to fulfil societal, governmental and business sector needs, many universities are aiming to (re-)position themselves. The book initially considers their “compass”. They aspire to transformational planning, mission and strategy in which social justice is important, people are not treated as mere means to an end, and traditional moral positions are respected. This transformational urge is sometimes vitiated by blunt demands of new public management that overlook universities’ potential for serving the public good. The volume then addresses universities’ success in meeting their targets. Often the challenge in evaluation is the need to reconcile tensions, for example between structure and pastoral care of students; institutional competition and collaboration; roles of academics and administrators; performance-based funding versus increased differentiation. Measurement is supposed to provide discipline, align institutional and state policy, and provide a vital impetus for change. Yet many of these measurement instruments are not fully fit for purpose. They do not take sufficient account of institutional missions, either of “old” or of specialist universities; and sophisticated measurement of the student experience requires massive resources. Change and positioning have become increasingly key elements of a complex but heterogeneous sector requiring new services and upgraded instruments.




Big Data on Campus


Book Description

Webber, Henry Y. Zheng, Ying Zhou




Funding Public Colleges and Universities for Performance


Book Description

This is the first comprehensive study of performance funding of public colleges and universities, which directly ties some state allocations to institutional results on designated indicators. The book examines performance funding as a national phenomenon, identifying the champions and critics of the program, the arguments for and against its adoption, the most common performance measures used for funding, the characteristics that separate stable from unstable initiatives, and the inherent possibilities and problems. The authors include case studies of performance funding in Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, Ohio, and South Carolina, and explore the reasons why Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, and Minnesota first adopted and later abandoned their programs. They examine problems with performance funding, such as the reluctance of the academic community to agree on reasonable goals for undergraduate education or the failure to apply performance funding to the academic departments that are mostly responsible for institutional results on many of the performance indicators. The contributors conclude that although the future of performance funding remains cloudy, one aspect is becoming clear—taxpayers are unlikely to continue to accept the proposition that performance should count in all endeavors except state funding for higher education. Contributors include E. Grady Brogue, Joseph C. Burke, Juan C. Copa, Patrick Dallet, Terri Lessard, Gary Moden, Dr. Robert B. Stein, Michael Williford, and David J. Wright.




Digital Business Transformation


Book Description

The recent surge of interest in “digital transformation” is changing the business landscape and posing several challenges, both organizational and sectoral. This transformation involves the application of digital technology in all aspects of business, and enables organizations to create new products and services, and to find more efficient ways of doing business. Moreover, the digital transformation is happening within and across organizations of all types and in every industry, producing a disruptive innovation that can break down the barriers between people and organizations, and help create more adaptive processes. In the information age, it is imperative for organizations to develop IT-related capabilities that allow them to leverage the potential of digital technologies. Due to the pervasive effects of this transformation on processes, firms and industries, both scholars and practitioners are interested in better understanding the key mechanisms behind the emergence and evolution of the digital business transformation. This book presents a collection of research papers focusing on the relationships between technologies (e.g., digital platforms, AI, blockchain, etc.), processes (e.g., decision-making, co-creation, financial, compliance, etc.), and organizations (e.g., smart organizations, digital ecosystems, Industry 4.0, collaborative networked organizations, etc.), which have been categorized into three major areas: organizing, managing and controlling. It also provides critical insights into how the digital transformation is enhancing organizational processes and firms’ performance through an exploration and exploitation of internal resources, and through the establishment of external connections and linkages. The plurality of views offered makes this book particularly relevant for users, companies, scientists, and governments. The content of the book is based on a selection of the best papers (original double-blind peer-reviewed contributions) presented at the annual conference of the Italian chapter of the AIS, which was held in Naples, Italy in September 2019.




The European Higher Education Area


Book Description

Bridging the gap between higher education research and policy making was always a challenge, but the recent calls for more evidence-based policies have opened a window of unprecedented opportunity for researchers to bring more contributions to shaping the future of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Encouraged by the success of the 2011 first edition, Romania and Armenia have organised a 2nd edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers’ Conference (FOHE-BPRC) in November 2014, with the support of the Italian Presidency of the European Union and as part of the official EHEA agenda. Reuniting over 170 researchers from more than 30 countries, the event was a forum to debate the trends and challenges faced by higher education today and look at the future of European cooperation in higher education. The research volumes offer unique insights regarding the state of affairs of European higher education and research, as well as forward-looking policy proposals. More than 50 articles focus on essential themes in higher education: Internationalization of higher education; Financing and governance; Excellence and the diversification of missions; Teaching, learning and student engagement; Equity and the social dimension of higher education; Education, research and innovation; Quality assurance, The impacts of the Bologna Process on the EHEA and beyond and Evidence-based policies in higher education. "The Bologna process was launched at a time of great optimism about the future of the European project – to which, of course, the reform of higher education across the continent has made a major contribution. Today, for the present, that optimism has faded as economic troubles have accumulated in the Euro-zone, political tensions have been increased on issues such as immigration and armed conflict has broken out in Ukraine. There is clearly a risk that, against this troubled background, the Bologna process itself may falter. There are already signs that it has been downgraded in some countries with evidence of political withdrawal. All the more reason for the voice of higher education researchers to be heard. Since the first conference they have established themselves as powerful stakeholders in the development of the EHEA, who are helping to maintain the momentum of the Bologna process. Their pivotal role has been strengthened by the second Bucharest conference." Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London (General Rapporteur of the FOHE-BPRC first edition)