Recent evidence suggests school resources are continually segregated from minoritized communities. This funding disparity impacts students' long-term outcomes in school and in their community. Political discourse has prioritized school defunding, privatization through vouchers and related policies, and tax relief and at the same time greater…

Performance-based funding models for higher education, which tie state support for institutions to performance on student outcomes, have proliferated in recent decades. Some states now tie most of their higher education appropriations to completion outcomes and include bonus payments for historically underrepresented groups to address equity gaps…

Objective: This article analyzes the implementation of two state grant programs in Tennessee aimed at improving the quality of in-demand postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) programming at community and technical colleges. We use insights from our findings to propose a conceptual framework for understanding how external funding can…

The use of performance-based funding that ties state higher education appropriations to performance metrics has increased dramatically in recent years, but most programs place at stake a small percent of overall funding. We analyze the effect of two notable exceptions--Ohio and Tennessee--where nearly all state funding is tied to performance…

System governing boards fulfill roles as both regulators and protectors for their multiple constituent campuses. While centralized control provides many benefits to institutional members, such advantages are also be accompanied by limitations upon campuses to pursue expanded missions, fully compete, and spend according to individual rather than…

We examined how performance-based funding (PBF) for higher education institutions in Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana affects bachelor's degree completion, admission practices, and the enrollment of underserved students. Utilizing data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, we employed an event study analysis, in addition to a…

Pell eligibility for incarcerated people is a great rehabilitative opportunity, but several challenges remain. This article recaps five of the issues identified by the original research articles in this special issue. It also considers how solutions proposed in these studies may be beneficial across a variety of these issues and gathers…

In response to the high cost of textbooks and other course materials, "Inclusive Access" automatic billing programs allow the cost of a discounted eTextbook and/or courseware to be automatically added to a student's tuition bill at the time of course registration. Touted for their ability to lower costs and provide students with access…

Since the Tennessee Promise's 2014 launch, "free college" or "Promise" programs have proliferated rapidly and converged on design features: a "last-dollar" award and community college applicability. Researchers who study these programs' effects generally presume they are tuition-reducing endeavors. In contrast, we…

In this article, the Tennessee's Voluntary Prekindergarten (TN-VPK) program in general and the Shelby County Schools' VPK program in particular are analyzed using the policy instruments of regulation, finance, and support services. The geospatial analysis (Geographic Information Systems or "GIS") indicates that many of VPK's site…

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal government allocates 7% of Title I funds, about $1 billion per year, for school improvement. States have substantial autonomy in allocating these funds, including which schools are identified for federal school improvement, what improvement strategies are used, and whether external intermediaries…

This study illustrates a method for evaluating the accuracy of performance metrics and identifies potential institutional and student attributes that may increase the likelihood of classification errors. Longitudinal data were obtained from the Integrated Postsecondary Eduation Data System for public 4-year institutions (N = 558) to evaluate…

Two distinct literature bases exist documenting the benefits of study aboard participation and state-adopted merit-aid policies. However, few, to date, have estimated the impact of merit-aid adoption on study abroad participation. Results from our study demonstrate the potential positive externality merit-aid policy adoption has on study abroad…

Today, 35 states use performance-based funding models tying appropriations directly to educational outcomes. Financial incentives should induce colleges to improve performance, but there are several well-documented reasons why this is unlikely to occur. We examine how two of the most robust performance funding states--Tennessee and Ohio--responded…

In 2010, Tennessee enacted the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), which increased the proportion of state performance-based funding from 5.45% to 85% and added a 40% funding premium for progression and degree completions by adult students and low-income students. We collect data from 2001-02 to 2014-15 and use difference-in-differences…