Over the last few years, the Senate Education Committee and the Joint Committee on Education have been making progress on creating a better method to fund higher education in Missouri.  Core appropriations for institutions are currently based on historic funding levels, with no consideration of whether the school is successfully fulfilling its mission statement.  The committees on education believe a better funding scheme would include not only historic funding levels, but reviews of school performance.

While undergraduate enrollment has doubled in the United States since 1970, graduation rates remain virtually the same.  In Missouri, we have more than 219,000 students currently enrolled in our 13 public four-year institutions.  The current system, which seeks to fund each of these institutions, although they arguably have similar missions, is disputed.

This week, the Senate passed Senate Bill 492, a performance funding model for higher education.  The measure would require each public four-year institution and the State Technical College of Missouri to annually prepare an institutional budget request to submit to the Department of Higher Education.  The Coordinating Board for Higher Education would also develop five institutional performance measures for each four-year institution, including student retention, graduation rates, student job placement, and the pursuit of a graduate degree.  The performance funding model would be used as a matrix to determine where 90 percent of new funds appropriated by lawmakers are spent.  It would put Missouri in line with about 29 other states that use some sort of performance funding for their higher education systems.

With this legislation, we would be investing Missouri’s financial resources to support our state’s future leaders and our economy.  We rely on higher education in our state to continue serving the intellectual, economic, and social needs of the state’s future.  By rewarding institutions based on performance, Missouri and its citizens will benefit, and taxpayers will get a better return on their investment.

I always appreciate hearing from you.  If you have any questions about the topics discussed above, or about any other legislative or district issues, please do not hesitate to contact my office.