Higher Education Governance and Funding

The governance and funding of public higher education in the United States is shared between the federal and state governments. Due to the U.S. federalist approach to government and the decentralized nature of higher education, there has been variation in the approaches that states take to funding and governing their public colleges and universities. This chapter begins with an overview of the history and context of federal and state higher education governance and finance. The authors then discuss recent innovations in state approaches to governance and funding, with specific attention on the empirical research examining these innovations, namely the college completion movement and performance- and outcomes-based funding models. The authors discuss the implications for accountability, attainment, and equity at the end of the governance and funding sections and in the conclusion at the end of the chapter.

Keywords: higher education; governance; finance; accountability; equity; performance-based funding; college access and attainment