Overview

Performance funding ties state support of colleges and universities directly to institutional performance on specific outcomes, including retention, number of credits accrued, graduation, and job placement. The theory is that introducing market-like forces will prod institutions to become more efficient and effective. In The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education, Kevin J. Dougherty and Rebecca S. Natow explore the sometimes puzzling evolution of this mode of funding higher education. Drawing on an eight-state study of performance funding in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington, Dougherty and Natow shed light on the social and political factors affecting the origins, evolution, and demise of these programs. Their findings uncover patterns of frequent adoption, discontinuation, and re-adoption. Of the thirty-six states that have ever adopted performance funding, two-thirds discontinued it, although many of those later re-adopted it. Even when performance funding programs persist over time, they can undergo considerable changes in both the amount of state funding and in the indicators used to allocate funding. Yet performance funding continues to attract interest from federal and state officials, state policy associations, and major foundations as a way of improving educational outcomes. The authors explore the various forces, actors, and motives behind the adoption, discontinuation, and transformation of performance funding programs. They compare U.S. programs to international models, and they gauge the likely future of performance funding, given the volatility of the political forces driving it. Aimed at educators, sociologists, political scientists, and policy makers, this book will be hailed as the definitive assessment of the origins and evolution of performance funding.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kevin J. Dougherty (Associate Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University) ,  Rebecca S. Natow (Postdoctoral Research Associate, Teachers College, Columbia University)
Publisher:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9781421416908

ISBN 10:   1421416905
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   10 July 2015
Recommended Age:   From 17
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 1. Introduction Conundrums of Performance Funding Research Questions and a Preview of Methods and Perspectives Chapter Contents and Preview of Findings 2. Putting U.S. Performance Funding in Context Conceptualizing Accountability Accountability to State Government State Finance of Higher Education as Accountability The Use of Performance Outcomes in State Funding Contextualizing U.S. Performance Funding Summary and Conclusions 3. The Varying Trajectories of Higher Education Performance Funding Programs How Many States Have Adopted Performance Funding? Two Waves of Performance Funding Adoption Different Stages of Performance Funding Varying Trajectories of Performance Funding Synopses of the Performance Funding Programs in Our Eight States Summary and Conclusions 4. Origins of the First Wave of State Performance Funding Adoptions with Rachel Hare Bork, Sosanya M. Jones, and Blanca E. Vega Explaining the Rise of State Performance Funding Theoretical Perspectives Research Methods Broad-Based Social Forces Giving Rise to Performance Funding Supporters of Performance Funding and Their Motives Opponents and Their Beliefs Coalition Formation Identification of Policy Solutions Agenda Setting Summary and Conclusions 5. Incremental Change in Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee Selection of Cases and Interviews Theoretical Framework Incremental Change in Funding Levels for Performance Funding Incremental Change in Performance Indicators Summary and Conclusions 6. Performance Funding Discontinued Research and Theoretical Perspectives Factors Contributing to Performance Funding Program Discontinuation Risk Factors for Performance Funding Discontinuation Summary and Conclusions 7. Origins of the Second Wave of Performance Funding Adoptions with Sosanya M. Jones, Hana Lahr, Lara Pheatt, and Vikash Reddy Objectives and Theoretical Perspectives Research Methods and Data Sources Broad-Based Social Forces Giving Rise to the Wave 2 Programs Advocacy Coalitions Supporting Performance Funding Muted Opposition Formation of the Supporting Coalitions Identification of Policy Solutions Policy Windows Opening the Way for PF 2.0 Similarities and Differences in the Origins of Wave 1 and 2 Programs Summary and Conclusions 8. Summary and Conclusions Summary of Findings Research and Theory Implications What Is the Likely Future of Performance Funding? Appendix Research Questions Theoretical Perspectives Research Methods Notes References Index

Reviews

The 'definitive assessment' of performance funding in higher education... Council of Independent Colleges Newsletter

The 'definitive assessment' of performance funding in higher education... Council of Independent Colleges Newsletter An in-depth study of an important topic...enlightening and very thorough. Comparative Education Review The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education: Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations is the most comprehensive volume on the current state of performance funding in higher education. Contemporary Sociology The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education clearly articulates the origins, implications, and life cycles of performance-based funding as a complex function of higher education finance that is here to stay. Teachers College Record

Author Information

Kevin J. Dougherty is an associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center. He is the author of The Contradictory College: The Conflicting Origins, Impacts, and Futures of the Community College. Rebecca S. Natow is a postdoctoral research associate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College.

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