The Board of Regents has approved revisions to the performance-based funding formula that will match fiscal policies to academic achievement.
The proposed changes “provide separate formula calculations for the two-year and four-year institutions, simplify the formula, and align the performance metrics to the LA GRAD Act,” according to the annual report.
The formula revisions include:
– Alignment of the 25 percent performance calculation to the LA GRAD Act
– Funding credit hours based on completions, or “end of course” measures
– Calculation of a separate formula for two-year institutions
The new formula will allow 85 percent of the state’s total general funds to be distributed based on the model, and the remaining funds will be dispersed based on performance, which will be based off LA GRAD Act student success measures including graduation, retention and completer rates.
Along with the authority to increase tuition by 10 percent annually, each campus will have roughly 25 percent of its annual total operation budget allocated depending on the success goals met, the document states.
The cost model will substitute the number of “end of course measures” for the 14th-class-day reports for four-year institutions, rewarding completion over enrollment.
Louisiana’s technical colleges will be exempt.
A “hold harmless” metric will also establish a maximum loss for impacted institutions in a single fiscal year.
In other action, the Board approved the funding distribution proposal for the fiscal year 2011 to 2012. The distribution totals with the approved formula are about $699 million, with the LSU System receiving about $225 million, according to the Governor’s Executive Budget Estimation.
“We were given the Executive Budget, and this is how we propose to distribute it,” said Regents Chairman Robert Levy. “But you and I both know it’s not going to come out that way.”
Once the final amount is determined by the Legislature, the funding will be given to the separate management boards and dispersed to individual institutions.
 
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Contact Sydni Dunn at
[email protected]