South By North Strategies, Ltd.

States traditionally have tied funding for two- and four-year colleges and universities to student enrollment. Yet in recent years, prompted by state budget constraints and the need to increase the number of Americans with postsecondary credentials, states have begun tying public funding to an array of student outcomes–an approach known as performance funding.

In early 2012, The Working Poor Families Project, a national initiative to strengthen state policies influencing the well-being of low-income working families, commissioned South by North Strategies, Ltd. to prepare a policy brief summarizing the current state of performance funding.

The resulting report provides an overview of performance funding in the states, highlighting the importance of performance funding systems that cover all students, including non-traditional students, and values their progress and success in determining institutional funding. The brief concludes with policy recommendations for state policy organizations interested in ensuring that performance funding works for all students.