A National Analysis of the Impact of Performance-Based Funding on Completion Outcomes Among Underserved Students

Performance-based funding (PBF) is an increasingly popular higher education policy designed to hold colleges accountable for their students’ academic outcomes. The majority of states in the U.S. have adopted a PBF policy, but we know very little about how PBF adoption affects completion outcomes among underserved subgroups or whether specific design elements of PBF policies exacerbate inequities facing traditionally disadvantaged students. In this study, we examine the effects of various PBF policies on the completion outcomes of historically underserved students.

Justin OrtagusJuly 14, 2021Justin Ortagus, Kelly Rosinger, Robert Kelchen, Nicholas Vorhees, Garam Chu

Disparate Impacts of Performance Funding Research Incentives on Research Expenditures and State Appropriations

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies with research incentives have grown in popularity over the years despite little understanding regarding whether they actually work. This study leverages a novel national dataset to examine the impact of PBF research incentives on the research expenditures and total state appropriations among public four-year institutions, with a particular focus on minority-serving institutions (MSIs). We find that PBF research incentives had no impact on research expenditures or the total amount of state appropriations allocated to treated institutions, regardless of MSI status. PBF policies that allowed institutions to self-select or opt into including research incentives as part of their PBF formula had a positive impact on the relative share of expenditures allocated to research and total state appropriations.

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Justin OrtagusJune 28, 2021Xiaodan Hu, Justin Ortagus, Nicholas Vorhees, Kelly Rosinger, Robert Kelchen

Performance-Based Funding in American Higher Education: A Systematic Synthesis of the Intended and Unintended Consequences

This systematic synthesis examines the intended and unintended consequences of performance-based funding (PBF) policies in higher education. Within this synthesis, we focus particularly on evidence from research studies with strong causal inference designs in an effort to understand the impacts of these policies.

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