COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) - The Idaho State Board of Education has approved a plan to fund the state’s public colleges and universities based on the number of graduates they produce.
The board on Thursday approved the plan, which board spokesman Mike Keckler said will be phased-in over three years, with $16 million in new state funding set for fiscal year 2020, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported .
“We as a board see outcomes-based funding as a practical step we can take to help our colleges and universities contribute even more to our entire higher education system success, and more importantly, to the success of our students,” board member Emma Atchley said.
The board, for the past 30 years, has awarded funding according to the number of credits students took at Idaho’s respective public colleges and universities, according to Keckler.
The new funding model will result in greater recognition of what the local community college has been doing for its students, said Laura Rumpler, North Idaho College’s chief communications officer.
It also will be better for students who have financial needs and students who go into high-demand STEM fields, she said.
The state board still needs to work out how to recognize colleges that lose students to good-paying jobs before reaching a completion threshold, Rumpler said.
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Information from: Coeur d’Alene Press, http://www.cdapress.com
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