JEFFERSON CITY — This week in the Senate, legislation dealing with performance funding for higher education institutions was heard before the Senate Education Committee. Senate Bill 437 is the culmination of work that the Joint Committee on Education has been focused on since the passage of House Bill 1731 in 2012, to create a funding formula for Missouri’s institutions of higher education.

Similar to actions taken by about 30 other states to date, my colleagues and I looked at ways to ensure public colleges and universities could be rewarded for performance. The concept of performance-based funding has grown in the last few years, becoming more and more prevalent as a funding option. Looking at our neighboring states, and even across the country, it became clear that performance-based funding is the best alternative for Missouri’s higher education, as performance-based funding puts the ability in the hands of the schools and rewards their hard work and effort, as opposed to merely distributing money on an across-the-board manner.

The Missouri Senate released a report in 2010, compiled by a special committee call the Educated Citizenry 2020 Committee. In the final report for that committee, members stated to the Senate that they wanted to see 60 percent of adult Missourians obtain a post-secondary degree. That is one reason why one factor for funding is graduation rates, as well as remediation rates.

Missouri has a diverse selection of public colleges and universities, including high-end, selective schools and open-enrollment institutions. It is certainly true that the more selective the school, the more competitive the students who apply for admission. However, it is not the tight admission practices that earn a school the right to state funding. It is the school’s ability to keep a student through graduation and that student’s level of both work and performance, and the school’s support of that student. A school that doesn’t offer students enough assistance is a school that will slowly lose its students, and therefore, its graduation and remediation rates will drop. This is true for any higher education schools that are not willing to reach out to students.

I have no doubts that this performance-based funding model has some points that could be considered difficult at first. For decades, the General Assembly has either cut or added to the education budget in an across-the-board manner. I understand performance-based funding can be a hard concept to comprehend. As with many measures, it is impossible to make everyone happy all the time. I understand that each school wants the best for its students. In this case, they will have to do their best in order to reap the benefits of their success.

With this week’s hearing, the Senate Education Committee will need to vote the bill through to the floor before it can be considered for debate among my fellow senators in the Senate chamber.

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.