While the impact of government funding for institutions of higher education has been researched extensively, little research looks at the impact of students as a funding source. This is important because students are one of the greatest contributors to higher education budgets. Within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, there has been a decline in high…

This study aims to develop a list of technological enhancements to a financial aid analytics application (F3A) designed to assist higher education leaders in gaining actionable insights for decision-making with grants optimization. This research utilizes the Design Science Research framework which highlights the design and evaluation of an IT…

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3)…

In February 2015 a large group of scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in P-20 finance issues gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for the National Education Finance Academy's annual conference, on February 25-27, 2015 to discuss, among multiple topics, the state of P-20 finance in all 50 states. There were 35 states represented in the…

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3)…

The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of multiple decisions made every year in every state in each of these areas. No single report can provide definitive answers to these broad and…

Policy discussions about funding in higher education focus primarily on revenues needed to balance budgets from year to year, rather than on how funds need to be invested to meet strategic priorities. The data in "Trends" show that the incremental approach to fundraising and spending has resulted in a slow disinvestment in core…

Research suggests that institutional commitment to community engagement can be understood by examining levels of student, faculty, and community involvement in engagement; organizational structure, rewards, and campus publications supporting engagement; and compatibility of an institution's mission with this work (Holland, 1997). Underlying all of…

The economic meltdown has hit U.S. college campuses, and higher education is on the chopping block in state budgets, with cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars already approved and hundreds of millions in more cuts on the way. As veteran legislators, the authors have seen this story play out before in previous recessions. The mindset on…

Profiles of the 14 states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) provide information on the structure of these states for public postsecondary education and budgeting. For each state, the following areas are discussed: state-level coordinating and/or governing agency, institutional governing boards, state board for vocational education,…

Summaries of the design, planning, and implementation of performance funding programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington reveal the challenges and opportunities of this reform approach. Performance measures and objectives and the history of the program in each…

Performance indicators used for state funding, past and present, of public colleges in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington are reviewed to explore their intent and implications and to provide information for policymakers considering introducing or revising…

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…

Findings of a Southern Regional Education Board study of management flexibility and state regulation in higher education are discussed in five chapters. James R. Mingle in "Management Flexibility and State Regulation: An Overview" outlines the scope of the study, which focused on administrators' and board members' views on management…

This two-part report focuses on progress made by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) during the first year of a 5-year contract. AEL's mandate is to work with educators in ongoing research and development-based efforts to improve education and educational opportunities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Part I:…