BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With lawmakers set to reconvene next week to continue discussions on linking higher education funding to student outcomes, university leaders on Tuesday urged each other to stay engaged – and unified – in shaping whatever model may emerge.
During a virtual meeting of the Alabama Council of College and University Presidents, members discussed the upcoming Nov. 12 task force meeting of the House and Senate education budget committees that are exploring ways to “modernize” how state dollars are allocated to public universities.
“We’d rather be at the table offering opinions than not,” Jacksonville State University President Don Killingsworth told his peers. He encouraged his colleagues to attend the meeting.
House Education Budget Chairman Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, told Alabama Daily News he wants to hear from higher education officials.
“We’re clearly not going to implement anything without having discussions with the higher ed folks,” Garrett said. “Just like we did with the RAISE Act, we’ll present information to our committee, discuss it in public forums, get feedback, and ultimately, if we do move forward with legislation, we want it to be something everyone’s comfortable with.”
The RAISE Act, approved this year, is a K-12 public school funding formula that distributes additional education dollars based on student needs.
Killingsworth said recent conversations among lawmakers have touched broadly on topics such as degree requirements, general education courses and aligning programs more closely with workforce needs.
He emphasized the importance of establishing fair and realistic metrics that account for institutional differences.
“It’s vitally important that we get the metrics right,” he said. “We’ve got to come to some compromise before the compromise is handed to us.”
Auburn University at Montgomery President Carl Stockton asked whether any new model would account for differences between large research universities and regional campuses, given the varied missions and student populations across the state.
Athens State University President Catherine Wehlburg said she’s heard discussion about allowing each institution to be measured partly against its own progress rather than identical statewide benchmarks — an idea she said raises questions about how performance-based funding would be applied consistently.
“When you look at outcomes-based funding for higher ed, you’ve got to look individually at the community college system and the four-year institutions,” Garrett said. “Even among the four-year institutions, there are differences and groupings – the goal is to agree with each institution on measurable, achievable outcomes.”
Lawmakers created a performance-based funding system for the two-year colleges in 2019. That funding is in addition to the state’s regular funding.
Higher education officials agreed that any outcomes-based approach should supplement, not replace, the state’s existing funding formula. The current year’s four-year college funding – $1.8 billion – is based on both student population and specialized costs.
Jim Purcell, executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, said the conversation remains in its early stages but stressed that “mandatory costs” – such as inflation, health insurance and retirement costs – must be considered before any performance-based funding is distributed.
“We want to encourage performance, but we have to take care of rent and facilities as we have,” he said.
The Nov. 12 meeting will be the task force’s second – the first was held in late August. The 10:00 a.m. meeting is scheduled to be live-streamed on the legislature’s website.