February 14, 2011

Virginia Close to Passing Major Higher Ed Reform

Virginia’s Governor, Robert McConnell, endorsed all of the recommendations made by the Higher Education Commission he created last year to explore policy options for higher education reform. The resulting Virginia Higher Education Act of 2011 has moved quickly through both the House and Senate and may soon be on its way to the Governor. The bill provides $50 million in new funding for higher education institutions in Virginia, a UW Global Challenge State peer, as a ‘downpayment’ on the lofty reform goals outlined by the bill, including:

• Producing 100,000 additional degrees over the next 15 years.
• Providing incentives to increase enrollment of Virginia residents by creating target resident enrollment goals for institutions.
• Creating incentives for improving retention, graduation, and time-to-degree.
• Crafting new performance agreements focused on policy outcomes.
• Enhancing efficiency by increasing institutional managerial autonomy.
• Creating a higher education rainy day fund for use in economic crisis.
• Establishing objective, peer-based funding goals.
• Increasing state support and reducing reliance on tuition revenue.
• Restoring state aid for students attending non-public Virginia colleges.
• Increasing state need-based aid for low and middle income students.
• Increasing year-round use of physical and instructional resources.
• Increasing use of technology in the classroom, and increasing online course offerings.
• Increasing enrollment in dual credit programs to shorten time-to-degree.
• Creating public/private partnerships to increase STEM degree attainment, and facilitate commercialization.
• Creating a catalog of R&D assets and activities so that the state can align investments with existing strengths/activities.
• Creating an emerging technologies fund to recruit faculty, purchase equipment and provide seed funding.

The Washington State legislature is considering its own Higher Education Funding Task Force bill right now. Make sure to follow its progress via our UW BillTracker (bill number 5717).