The Impact of Performance-Based Funding on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

More than half of the states in the U.S. fund public colleges and universities, based in part on those institutions meeting performance metrics. Given increasing political and public interest in accountability for public resources, it is likely more states will adopt incentive-based finance policies for postsecondary education. This chapter explores how performance-based funding has affected HBCUs in six states. It situates this analysis in the political context that foments and sustains interest in this finance mechanism. Through descriptive statistical analysis of HBCU achievement on key performance funding measures and interview responses with HBCU and higher education representatives, this chapter offers a more nuanced and comprehensive analysis of the outcomes of performance funding as it is applied to HBCUs.