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A Texas commission has recommended that community college funding in the state be directly tied to performance—namely, student graduation rates and transfers to four-year schools. The recommendation from the Commission on Community College Finance will now go to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for a final report and then to state lawmakers.
Beyond tweaking how community colleges are funded, the commission urged state lawmakers to provide more financial aid to students enrolled in those colleges, The Texas Tribune reported. The news outlet reported that Texas funds community colleges with local property taxes, tuition revenues and a state funding system that has seemingly not kept pace with the needs of many institutions.
In addition to changing the funding mechanism, the commission recommended that lawmakers establish a baseline for costs like instruction and day-to-day operations so that colleges not earning significant dollars from property taxes are not disproportionately underfunded.
