The Commonwealth’s higher education funding will be among the competing concerns facing the upcoming 2016 General Assembly and Governor-elect Matt Bevin.
This session, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education is advancing a performance funding model which ties appropriations for the state’s eight public universities and community and technical college system to the number of degrees produced, student retention rates, and graduation rates.
CPE President Dr. Bob King says he’s hopeful that, despite the current fiscal climate, legislators will be receptive to such an approach.
“We think that this model is one that we hope will, number one, be effective, and number two, be persuasive in terms of saying to legislators ‘Look, the campuses are committing to significant improvement, they’re asking for funds to be able to implement it, but they’ll only get to keep those funds if they deliver,'" said King. "We think it’s a pretty sensible approach, and we hope that the legislators will agree.”
King says he hasn’t met with Governor-elect Matt Bevin since the election, but a meeting with Bevin and state university presidents during the campaign gives him hope the future governor will be supportive.
“It was a very constructive discussion, and he, I think, seemed genuinely interested in what our concerns were, and also, I think he realizes the value that the universities can provide," said King.
King says state university campuses have been cut for the last seven years, resulting in a base funding loss of $173 million and the solution to many of Kentucky’s problems is a stronger economy. He says that will come from a workforce that is as well-trained and well-educated as they can make it.
