Performance funding in higher education ties state funding directly to institutional performance on specific indicators, such as rates of retention, graduation, and job placement. One of the great puzzles about performance funding is that it has been both popular and unstable. Between 1979 and 2007, 26 states enacted it, but 14 of those states…

Although many states have been moving toward central boards, the opposite is true in Florida. The reasons why Florida's ten regents have come under attack from legislators are outlined, and a feud between the governor and the legislature over building a quality higher education system is discussed. (MLW)

A 1996 survey of state policymakers and public college representatives in states with performance funding (Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee) is presented. Although differences exist across states in a number of areas, findings challenge the assumption of an irreconcilable gap between…

A report based on a conference on the impact of cost information on statewide budgeting and planning is presented. The conference was organized around case-study reports on the use of cost information in higher education budgeting in Florida, Indiana, Washington, and Wisconsin. Rather than publishing convention proceedings, the case studies were…

A study of leading state-level policy actors in Florida's higher education identified a hierarchy of power and influence. Policy elites were legislators and key legislative staff consultants, the university system chancellor, and the state board of regents. Least influential in policy formation were faculty and student interest groups and…