Written for The Texas Observer legislative blog "Floor Pass."
Two years ago, Rep. Dan Branch encouraged funding higher education based on “performance” measures like four-year graduation rates. A bill passed last session called on higher education leaders to craft a new performance-based funding model, and use it for up to one tenth of their funding request this year. Lawmakers will decide later this session whether to go ahead with funding colleges based on performance, but Branch is already moving to expand the practice. Wednesday evening, the House Higher Education committee took up his proposal to raise the cap on performance funding to one quarter of the state’s higher ed spending. Read more here.