A case study of community college administrators perceptions of institutional response to the performance-based funding mandate in the state of Texas

Date
2014-12
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Abstract

In fall of 2016, Texas state-supported community colleges will operate under a new performance-based funding model. This funding model has been introduced due to low completion rates of students which have caused an increase in the calls for accountability of higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of community college administrators of the effect on their institutions of responding to a change in funding models by the state of Texas, to performance-based funding for state-supported community colleges. The state of Texas funding model will allocate 10% of state appropriations to an institutional budget dependent on meeting key success indicators. Each of the 50 state-supported community colleges in Texas will be awarded an operational base appropriation of one million dollars; 90% of the budget will be funded based on enrollment numbers and contact hours, and 10% of the budget will be funded based on performance indicators.
A qualitative and collective case study methodology was utilized to address the three research questions that guided this study. The study was framed by Pfeffer and Salancik’s (1978) Resource Dependency Theory. There were a total of eight participants from three rural-serving community colleges located in the South Plains region of West Texas. Data was collected through means such as the researcher, semi-structured interviews, field notes, reflexive journaling, and institutional documents. The constant-comparative method and open coding were utilized to analyze the collected data. Included in the research process, was trustworthiness.
The overall findings of this study support that participants in this study perceive that performance-based funding includes preparations within the institution in order to respond to the funding mandate, challenges to responding to the funding model as well as an importance on communication of the new funding model. Their perceptions were supported through their experience in higher education, and with performance-based funding specifically as well as their knowledge of institutional funding. The results of this study led to several implications for higher education practice, including that responding to a performance-based funding model will challenge these institutions to do more with fewer resources and that it is necessary for them to have a thorough understanding of their student population. Also included is the need for clear and timely communications about performance-based funding at all levels of an institution and that accurate state reporting will be required for any institution that is part of a performance-based funding system. The results of this study show that institutions are responding to the funding mandate and further support Resource Dependency Theory.

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Keywords
Performance-based funding, Community colleges, Texas community colleges, Community college funding systems
Citation