Background/Context: Performance funding finances public higher education institutions based on outcomes such as retention, course and degree completion, and job placement rather than inputs such as enrollments. One of the mysteries of state performance funding for higher education is that despite great interest in it for over 30 years, only half…

A panel presentation and discussion of the effect of politics on the elected governing boards of the public higher education institutions in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, and Nevada, especially in relation to board election procedures and the state system's complexity, is summarized. (MSE)