UA System, Chancellor Steinmetz Endorse New State Higher Education Funding Formula

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(LITTLE ROCK) July 29, 2016 – University of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt, U of A Chancellor Joseph Steimetz and Chancellor Chris Thomason, UACC at Hope were among the higher education leaders supporting a new outcomes-based funding formula for the state’s higher education institutions.

The Arkansas Department of Higher Education Coordinating Board unanimously passed the framework for an outcomes-based funding model at their meeting Friday, July 29. The model will shift funding emphasis from enrollment toward student success and completion incentives.

“The state’s future rests upon having available an educated workforce so we can grow our existing industries and attract new and innovative opportunities," said President Bobbitt. "Education completion coupled with abundant economic options proves to be synonymous with vibrant communities and a healthier state. Anything we can do as a state to improve student success is a top priority within the UA System. The funding mechanism that supports completion is a step in the right direction and it reinforces our mission to prepare students to be contributing members of the state’s economy and a supportive backbone within the communities they choose to live.”

Chancellor Steinmetz said, “Getting higher education funding right is vital to the public institutions across the state of Arkansas. We are appreciative of the great amount of research, planning and work that went into the development of a re-calibrated funding formula, which importantly emphasizes successful student outcomes, a priority at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Support from the state is critical to our ability to create a high-caliber educational experience for students and I applaud Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s leadership in prioritizing higher education through his master plan.”

“At UA Hope-Texarkana, we embrace the collaborative process that the Arkansas Department of Higher Education has spearheaded to create an effectively designed funding formula that produces positive outcomes for all Arkansans," said Chancellor Thomason. "As chancellor of a community college serving many first-generation and non-traditional students, I know that we must continue to ensure that more students reach their goal of obtaining a degree or certificate in order to improve their own well being and that of our state as a whole.”