New study ?nds methods for rating UNC-system schools fall short

A study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is calling into question the way universities are funded and rewarded by the state.

The recent study, “Context for Success,” has found that to enhance college effectiveness, states must take into account the varying student demographics of each campus.

“You must take into account the preparation of the students coming in, which is the input, in order to accurately measure the output,” said Kim Hunter-Reed, project manager for the study, which was conducted by consulting firm HCM Strategists.

UNC-system schools have been moving toward performance-based funding, which focuses on measures like retention, graduation rates and degree efficiency.

Recently, the system has taken strides to provide a more accurate means of rating the effectiveness of universities, said Ken Kitts, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNC-Pembroke.

Kitts said before fall 2011, there was an obsessive focus on retention and graduation rates in determining how well a college was performing.

He said judging universities solely by retention and graduation rates is inadequate. Factors like socioeconomic status and the academic ability of incoming students should be included, he said.

UNC-P is in one of the poorest areas in the state, and half the school’s population comes from the area, Kitts said.

He said many students work while in school, which has an effect on how long it takes a student to graduate.

“To say, ‘Well, gee, Pembroke’s four-year graduation rate does not compare favorably to (N.C. State University), to me, that’s not very informative,” he said. “That’s eminently predictable. It never has, it never will.”

Hunter-Reed said many state systems don’t take incoming students’ preparedness into consideration, which can distort college ratings.

But Paul Fulton, member of the UNC-system Board of Governors, said performance-based funding in North Carolina has different standards for each university.

“A research institution is obviously very different from a strict liberal arts (school),” Fulton said.

He said a lot of factors go into deciding how much money each university will receive, and the system does consider the fact that certain universities have a greater percentage of academically prepared students.

“If you look at per-student funding, it does vary considerably,” he said. “But there’s a real meaningful rationale behind that when it does occur.”

Kitts said the shift in performance-based funding standards has allowed campuses to have more say in how their institution is measured.

“I certainly welcome that,” he said.

Although he said the changes to the funding model have given small campuses a louder voice, Kitts said much more could be accomplished.

“Do I wish we were heard a little bit more? Of course I do.”

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