Gov. Bevin says state universities are making a good faith effort to implement some outcomes-based funding, but the proposals don’t go far enough.
During the campaign and since taking office, Bevin has made it clear he wants to tether postsecondary dollars not just to enrollment figures but to outcomes – things like graduation rates and the number and types of degrees awarded. The goal is to reward institutions that produce more of the sort of graduates businesses are seeking.
So far, Bevin says higher education leader have engaged in what he calls a “good first effort,” but the offers deal mostly with requests for more funding.
"It tends to be specifically only looking at an increase in dollars from where we are to any dollars that would be added. That's not acceptable to me, and I'll just let that be known right now," he said. "It's going to apply to all the dollars, all $1 billion of them."
Asked whether the University of Kentucky is open to the formula changes Bevin champions, spokesman Jay Blanton says the school is ready for discussions on the topic.
"The Council on Postsecondary Education, on behalf of the institutions, has put forward a proposal that we support, and all the university in the state support, with respect to performance-based funding, but certainly we're looking forward to that conversation with the governor before, during, and after he proposes his budget," University of Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton tells WUKY.
Performance-based funding could become a bargaining chip next January as higher education advocates press the General Assembly to restore the combined 28 percent funding cut since the 2008 recession.
Still, Republican Sen. Chris McDaniel says it’s time for universities to do some belt-tightening when it comes to student amenities – if they’re serious about the budget process. At a 2016 legislative preview conference in Lexington, the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee chair worried aloud that higher education priorities have drifted away from the institutions’ core missions.
"At some point we have to stop asking the questi0n what do these kids want and ask the question what do these kids need," McDaniel said. "I will argue they need a high quality education and they need to come out without a bunch of debt. They don't need individual rooms and kitchenettes and all that other stuff."
Responding, Blanton defended the school’s ambitious efforts to remake the undergraduate experience through the construction of new student living centers and upgraded facilities.
"Four and a half years ago when President Capilouto came to the University of Kentucky, the average age of our residence halls was over 50 years old. There wasn't the technology in our residence halls for students to easily access the internet, to be able to do classroom discussions and utilize technology that's so critical to learning now," he notes.
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education is requesting a $122 million dollar increase in state funding over the next two years, but lawmakers have been hesitant to promise any new dollars as they grapple with a looming pension crisis and other pressing budget needs.
