IHEs

In 2016, the RI General Assembly passed the “Performance Incentive Funding Act” (RIGL §16-106), which was designed to promote alignment between the state’s priorities for higher education and institutional policy and practice. As approved in June 2018, the Performance Funding Policies and Procedures established the processes for the Commissioner of Postsecondary Education to evaluate institutional performance in consultation with the institution’s president and the Council on Postsecondary Education. 

Guiding Principles

The Performance Funding Policies and Procedures include the following principles to guide implementation:

• Performance funding should incent, recognize, demonstrably reward institutions’ progress, and support institutional efforts toward continuous improvement.
• Performance metrics should recognize and support the distinct and unique purpose, role, scope, and mission of each institution, as well as the broader value of higher education in bettering society and promoting overall prosperity.
• Performance metrics should advance equity and diversity and help to close equity gaps in student access, persistence, and success.
• Performance metrics should be transparent, substantive, and measurable, and uphold high academic standards relative to institutional missions.
• The evaluation of institutional performance should be consistent, equitable, and transparent.

Annual Performance Funding Evaluations

During the FY 2018 budget cycle, the Council on Postsecondary Education approved the initial performance funding metrics for CCRI, RIC and URI in the categories of graduation/completion, workforce development, and mission-specific initiatives. The responsibility for URI’s performance funding was later amended by the RI General Assembly. Annually, the Commissioner of Postsecondary Education conducted an evaluation of institutional performance funding reports and made a determination of whether performance has been achieved for each category and metric. The policies and procedures for this activity are under review, and this page will be updated once the process is finalized.