ASU will receive a greater proportion of state funding following the Arizona Board of Regents' approval Thursday of a new performance-based funding model.
This model will be used to distribute $5 million from the state budget to each of the state's three universities based on the schools' output of degrees, student credit hours and research expenditures.ABOR approved $2.6 million for ASU, $1.4 million for UA and $1 million for NAU.
"Performance funding is an innovative approach that will allow the state to target its investment in higher education toward degrees and research activity that are supportive of the state’s economic development goals,” ABOR Chair Rick Myers said in a Thursday news release.
The change in funds marks a transition from parity-based funding from the past several decades. UA has been receiving $838 more per student than ASU and $279 more per student than NAU.
ABOR approved the first state installment of parity funding at its meeting on Thursday and Friday at NAU.
ASU will receive $12 million and NAU $3.3 million more this year to bridge the gap created by higher funding for UA. Similar installments will continue until fiscal year 2017.
ABOR will use the newly approved funding model to allocate the $5 million to the universities when submitting budget requests for fiscal year 2014.
The board will place more emphasis on funding science, technology, engineering and math programs and degrees. Because ABOR considers these STEM degrees to be the most valuable economically, it will consider the quantity of these degrees more heavily than others when awarding funds.
Myers said the performance-based funding is important for the state's universities to continue to progress.
“This model should be used as a workforce development and business recruitment tool to incentive greater productivity in the areas business need most," he said.
ABOR also heard plans for a possible facility use agreement that would allow the ASU men's baseball team to use the Chicago Cubs' spring training facility, once completed, rather than renovating Packard Stadium.
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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