State policymakers and the public at large have a vested interest in the successful governance of their higher education institutions. The citizens who are appointed or elected to serve as board members of a state's colleges and universities oversee valuable public assets that they hold in trust for the state and for current and future…

In two separate articles, this report compared indicators of performance-funding programs for 2-year and 4-year public colleges in eight states. It examined indicators accepted or proposed in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It was found that states had as many as 37 and as few as 9…

Recommendations of six state reports that addressed issues confronting state governments and public higher education in the last 2 decades, as well as some new issues, are considered using content analysis. The reports were prepared by formal study commissions in the following states: Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, and New York. In…