Abstract

Performance-based funding policies have become popular among state legislators seeking ways to hold public higher education institutions accountable. Approximately 30 states currently use performance-based funding policies to tie state appropriations to institutional outcomes according to a defined set of metrics. Despite the popularity of the policy approach, very little empirical evidence exists to suggest that performance-based funding is effective in producing the often-intended outcomes of increased student retention and degree attainment rates. Numerous studies have indicated that these policies may produce unintended outcomes including the restriction of access, the gaming of performance-based funding systems, and the widening of equity gaps. This quantitative study employed an independent t test assuming unequal variances to investigate the effectiveness of performance-based funding policies on student retention by comparing the retention rates of full-time, first-time-in-college (FTIC) students by race, gender, and Pell grant eligibility for the four years following the implementation of these policies at a single Florida College System institution. This study also sought to determine if differences exist among enrollment rates for these same variables following the implementation of performance-based funding policies. Though findings were mixed, results revealed that in most cases there were statistically significant differences among the retention and enrollment rates across the variables of race, gender, and Pell Grant-eligibility for the sample of fulltime FTIC students following the implementation of PBF policies. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations are proposed to enhance the effectiveness of the performance-based funding policies for the Florida College System.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2021

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Cox, Thomas

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Educational Leadership and Higher Education

Degree Program

Educational Leadership; Higher Education Track

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008804; DP0026083

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026083

Language

English

Release Date

December 2021

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Download

Share

COinS