The Project
WPFP is a national initiative to strengthen state policies influencing the well-being of low-income working families.
Performance funding means linking public dollars to institutional results, such as higher education. The Working Poor Families Project (WPFP) wants to be sure low-income working adults enrolled in two-year colleges don’t get shafted. This report discusses performance funding for higher education currently being promoted by several factions. 1) Policymakers demanding efficient use of scarce tax dollars. 2) State leaders aligning performance with economic development goals. 3) Philanthropic foundations, policy organizations and governmental agencies as a means of strengthening higher education. This policy brief offers the pros and cons of performance funding in higher education and what policy directions should be pursued to protect the educational needs of the working poor.
Performance funding ties higher education outcomes to state monies by course completion rather than by enrollment numbers.