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Performance-Based Funding and College Affordability Discussions in Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana
Jan
20

Indiana Chamber of Commerce

115 West Washington Street, Suite 850S
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
11:30 am - 01:00 pm

On January 20, in collaboration with the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, members of the state House and Senate education committees were given an overview of the College Completion Agenda State Policy Guide.  Discussions focused on Indiana's performance-based funding model and financial aid recommendations, including proposed changes to the 21st Century Scholars program, to help increase college completion rates in the state.

Speakers included

  • Teresa Lubbers, Commissioner for Higher Education
  • Claudia Braman, Executive Director of State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana
  • Patricia Renner, Director, State and Legislative Outreach, The College Board

Collaborating Organizations

National Conference of State Legislatures

Indiana Highlights

The Indiana 21st Century Scholars Program provides academic and college-preparation assistance through high school to low-income middle school students who sign a pledge to complete high school and avoid illegal activities. If a student graduates from high school with a “Core 40” (rigorous curriculum) diploma and at least a 2.0 grade point average, and has stayed out of trouble, he or she is guaranteed four years of financial aid covering all tuition and fees at an in-state public college or university or an equivalent amount at an in-state private institution.

Indiana first implemented incentive funding in 2003, rewarding research universities that receive federal grants. In 2007, Indiana expanded performance funding to provide incentives for institutions to increase degree completion and improve on-time graduation rates and transfer rates. These incentives were provided on top of the base funding that institutions receive, which has historically been tied to overall enrollment change. In 2011, Indiana approved a formula that allocated 5% of the base budget to fund seven performance based metrics. Institutions, based on how well they performed in the seven metrics, were rewarded through the 5% allocation pool. As part of the upcoming budget for 2013-15, Indiana has updated their performance funding metrics to include: high impact degrees (focused on STEM degrees), a student persistence metric to reward institutions based on the number of credit hours a student completes successfully, and a metric for students who complete a remediation class and a gateway class successfully. Indiana's goal is to allocated 6% for performance funding in fiscal year 2014 and 7% in fiscal year 2015. The metrics in the updated performance funding formula are: Overall Degree Completion, At-Risk Student Degree Completion, High Impact Degree Completion, Student Persistence Incentive, Remediation Success Incentive, On-time Graduation Rate and Institution Defined Productivity metric.