In testimony before a joint hearing of the House Committee on Higher Education and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes spelled out his recommendations for community college performance funding. The hearing was held on May 20.
The proposed model is based on a program pioneered in Washington State, utilizing a variety of "Momentum Points" for which schools would be rewarded as students advance. The Momentum Points offered by Dr. Paredes include: successful completion of developmental education, completion of 15 and 30 semester hours, transfer to a university, and earning an associate's degree or professional certificate. Essentially the plan would reward progress in steps, beginning where students find themselves academically at initial enrollment.
Importantly, the commissioner and Coordinating Board propose that ten percent of formula revenue be set aside for this purpose, beginning in fiscal year 2013 (the second year of the next biennium).
Rey Garcia, president of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, and Greg Williams, president of Odessa College, told the panel that, while TACC supports the concept of Momentum Points, colleges need time to fully embrace the methodology and the resultant strategies needed to implement changes.
Dr. Garcia said TACC recommends that any performance funding plan be added to base appropriations, rather than included as a discrete component of the instructional formula. He told the panel further that ten percent is too high a figure to use initially. In fact, only one percent of funding was ultimately dedicated for this purpose in Washington State, which is experiencing a funding crisis along with all other states, he added.
Nevertheless, for the most part, Dr. Garcia testified, college leaders and the Coordinating Board are "really close" to agreement.
Under the plan, the amount of revenue each college gets would still depend mostly upon the total dollars included in the appropriations bill, reflecting enrollment and associated costs. However, schools that do not perform as well as others in advancing students through the Momentum Points would be penalized proportionately.
Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston), co-chair of the panel, asked, since community college funding is pegged presently at 51 percent of the full formula rate, "How are you doing all that [the comprehensive mission] now?" Dr. Garcia responded that schools have been compelled to raise additional local revenue, through higher tuition and property taxes.
Dr. Williams pointed out that many community college students have no intention of achieving a set number of semester hours or of graduating with any particular credential. They may just take one course to satisfy a career objective and move on, without achieving a single Momentum Point.
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