New funding plan good fit for National Park College
National Park College officials said Friday they are confident the college is aligned to make the most of a state proposal to modify how institutions of higher education are funded in Arkansas.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced his support on Friday for the Higher Education Productivity Funding Model, which is based on an outcomes-based approach. The move is meant to place more priority on program completion than the previous formula.
“I am pleased to announce my support of the productivity funding model for Arkansas’ higher education institutions,” Hutchinson said. “At my direction, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education began to look at potential changes to our current funding formula that would emphasize accountability, student success and degree completion.
“These changes will promote efficiency of operations, encourage on-time completion, and encourage allocation of resources to areas which directly impact student success, such as faculty salaries and academic support services.”
The ADHE Coordinating Board approved the proposal in a unanimous vote Friday morning. The proposal will next go before the Legislature during the 2017 session.
NPC President John Hogan served on the ADHE subcommittee that compiled the recommendations.
“Expanding access to postsecondary opportunities will always remain a primary mission for community colleges,” Hogan said. “However, I believe the shift from an enrollment-based model to an outcomes-based model incentivizes the results that are most important, completion and transfer. The result will be more quality graduates that can get jobs and an investment in higher education that will reap lasting rewards for Arkansas students and the state’s economy.”
Arkansas could become only the fifth state to shift its higher education funding model based on outcomes. Previous states to do so are Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio and Oregon.
“My priority continues to be increasing the percentage of Arkansans that are career-ready, equipped with degrees and industry-recognized certificates, and this new revolutionary funding model will help us achieve just that,” Hutchinson said.
“Outcomes-based funding represents a fundamental shift in the way we think about how the state invests in higher education,” said Brett Powell, director of the ADHE. “Instead of an enrollment-centered formula, this model focuses on program completions and, as a result, it emphasizes success and incentivizes institutional leaders to prioritize the types of activities that lead to successful students.
“I am pleased that we are considering this important change, particularly considering the opportunity it gives us to connect funding to Gov. Hutchinson’s priority of increasing postsecondary attainment in Arkansas.”
The state’s colleges and universities are currently funded on a needs-based model driven by enrollment that emphasizes access to higher education. The new proposal would shift funding to a focus on completion of college programs. The move is meant to emphasize student success along with access.
An outcomes-based funding is meant to align institutional funding with statewide priorities for higher education by encouraging programs and services focused on student success and incentivizing progress toward statewide goals. The models also encourage accountability to students and policymakers by focusing on student success.
“Any new funding model must be built around a set of shared principles embraced by institutions, employing appropriate outcomes metrics and aligned with goals and objectives for postsecondary attainment in our state and encouraging accountability to stakeholders,” according to a news release from the governor’s office.
“The proposed funding formula will be a great tool to bring about more equitable funding in Arkansas higher education,” said Ann Clemmer, interim director of the ADHE. “It puts funding incentives in place to reward schools for their students’ success.”
Hogan said NPC has spent the past two years lining up its objectives to increase attainment rates for students. The moves are in line with the same outcomes-based model now preferred by Hutchinson and the ADHE.
“We reorganized our budget and resources to meet these goals,” Hogan said. “We are working hard to retain more of our best and brightest young people and help them build lasting ties to our community so they can go to work and build a life here. I believe these changes will help us do that and I am optimistic about the new direction the state is taking to improve student success.”
Arkansas Tech University President Robin Bowen was among other college officials to support the new model. Bowen said the model rewards institutions for successfully graduating students in areas important to economic development in Arkansas.
“We also appreciate that the framework supports the initiatives that are important to our governor and our state, such as bridging the achievement gap for minority students, helping students make a smooth transition from community colleges to four-year universities and enhancing affordability by encouraging students to complete degrees on time and without excess credits,” Bowen said.
“The specific weights and measurements in the formula that have yet to be finalized and agreed upon will need to be transparent, easily understood and hold institutions to a fair and equitable standard. This will need to be accomplished while simultaneously upholding academic standards. I am optimistic that we can collectively produce the student success outcomes the formula strives to achieve.”