Seeking Comments on Performance Based Funding

The State Board of Education is in the process of considering a Performance Based Funding (PBF) scheme for community colleges in Oregon, tying a significant portion of the Community College Support Fund to measures of ‘completion‘ and ‘success.’ Little or no public discussion of the proposal has been allowed, and most commentary has come from proponents who rarely acknowledge the negative consequences PBF schemes promote. When concerns about the impact on ‘quality’ have been raised, they have been met with hollow ‘We have faith that the faculty will hold the line on quality’ responses, and ‘We will carefully monitor and assess quality’, but in fact proponents have no plans to even assess the impact on quality, let alone plans to protect the integrity of our schools. But schools struggling to hold onto their shares of state funding are likely to do all they can to ‘keep or get their numbers up,’ and studies show are likely to:

  1. Pressure educators to reduce the rigor and academic standards of current certifications and degrees
  2. Pressure educators to create certifications and degrees that may not be justified by employment opportunities
  3. Pressure educators to inflate grades and pass more students
  4. Decrease emphasis on CTE programs in favor of transfers, and transfer degrees
  5. Limit the courses taught to those that are part of a certification or degree
  6. Create policies or reduce funding that limits access to community colleges for disadvantaged and/or academically unprepared students

With proponents ignoring or negating such concerns, it’s up to faculty and others to defend the integrity of our educational programs, credentials, and schools, by documenting and publicizing ways that academic quality is already being undermined as schools respond to the ‘completion agenda‘ and prepare for the possible implementation of performance funding systems.

As such, the OEA Community College Council invites you to report ways that the completion agenda and the expectations of upcoming PBF schemes are already undermining educational quality at Oregon’s community colleges, so that we can document and publicize such practices, and report them to our legislators and the State Board to consider as they weigh proposals to formally adopt PBF systems into Oregon’s school systems.

Please share this page with others interested in protecting our schools from these schemes, and encourage anyone you hear is facing pressure to dumb down their classes, pass failing students, create questionable certificates, etc, to report these assaults on our schools in the space below.

Educators from states that already implement PBF systems are also encouraged to tell their stories.

Please post your report as a comment by clicking on the comments link in the title bar of this post above. If viewing this post from the Performance Based Funding page you can also comment in the area below this post; comments are reviewed prior to posting in order to prevent spam, so you will not see them posted immediately.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

Higher Education Lobby Day – March 27, 2013

Below is an information flyer from Andrea Cooper regarding the Higher Education Lobby Day.  Please register if you plan on attending.

HigherEd_LobbyDay_2013_flier copy

Agenda for the day:

9:00 AM -  Joint Training
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Lobby Visits
Noon -1:00 PM – Lunch with Legislators
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM – Lobby visits
3:00 PM – Head home

HECC Reports

Here are a couple more reports for your information from the HECC.

HECC Report on Transfer Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

HECC Report on Western Governor’s University

HECC Textbook Work Group Report Executive Summary

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission has provided recommendations to the legislature as required in HB 4058 on reducing the high cost of college textbooks. Those recommendations are included in the following report.

HB 4058 Textbook Affordability Report to the Oregon Legislature

Child Protection Policy

At the Fall Council meeting a discussion took place around the new child abuse protection laws which will become effective January 1, 2013. The following is a draft policy from the OCCA that Community College Boards may adopt.

OCCA Child Protection Policy DRAFT

It is suggested that faculty and staff look at this policy and consider clarifying the highlighted language regarding “conducting themselves appropriately” as this may be interpreted to include conduct not included in the child abuse protection law. While administrators are unlikely to push the boundaries of what is or is not “appropriate conduct” beyond the intent of the law, it is better to prevent abuse of that language to begin with.

Documents for Fall Meeting

OEA CCC Achievement Compact Principles and Recommendations – Final Document
prepared by OEA CCC

Executive Summary 4058 Report on Textbook Affordability
HECC Textbook Affordability Workgroup

Whats Wrong with the Completion Agenda And What We Can Do About It
By Debra Humphreys

Tying Funding to Community Colleges
Models, Tools and Recommendations for States, from Achieving the Dream

The Incomplete Completion Agenda
By Gary Rhoades

Students Must Not Become Victims of the Completion Agenda
By Scott Evenbeck and Kathy E. Johnson

Perfomance Funding
A Re-Emering Strategy in Public Higher Education Financing
American Association of State Colleges and Universities

Oregon Employment Projections
2010-2020 Oregon Employment Department

Its Not So Easy – The Completion Agenda and the States
By Garrison Walters

Oregon Learns OEIB Report

Accountability: Challenges for Higher Education 
NEA 2000 Almanac for Higher Education

HB2557 Reports

OUS_Report_for_HB2557

CC Report for HB2557

HB3418 Student Succes Task Force Final Report

The Task Force has completed its work and the final report was sent to the Governor last month.  Below is a copy for your review.

HB 3418 Task Force FINAL REPORT

Juliet
HB3418 Task Force Member

P.S. Link to Medford Mail Tribune Article after OEIB Public Forum
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121025/NEWS/210250330

 

OEA settles with PSA

The OEA Board of Directors agreed to the tentative agreement at its regular meeting on Saturday, November 3, 2012.
This 3-year contract might facilitate discussions with the Associate Staff Organization who are still bargaining.
Talk with Gary DeRoest or Barry Edwards for details.

NEA Higher Education Conference, March 22-24, 2013, Portland!

SAVE THE DATE

NEA HIGHER EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2013
“FACULTY, STUDENTS AND THE COMMON GOOD”
PORTLAND MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN WATERFRONT
PORTLAND, OREGON
CONFERENCE DATES
MARCH 22-24, 2013

LEADERSHIP DAY
MARCH 21, 2013
NCHE MEMBERSHIP MEETING
MARCH 21, 2013 (7P.M.) AND MARCH 22, 2013 (8 A.M.)
HIGHER ED STATE STAFF TRAINING
MARCH 22, 2013

“FACULTY, STUDENTS AND THE COMMON GOOD”
As our nation becomes increasingly partisan and polarized, especially between rich and poor, and as public education becomes increasingly underfunded and targeted by anti-egalitarian forces, what is the role of faculty, academic professionals, higher education support professionals and students in creating a more democratic, more decent society. What is the public good, and what does it mean to fight for it?

Registration information will be posted on the NEA website as soon as registration opens.

For more information, contact Rachelle Grant at rgrant@nea.org or Phadra Williams Tuitt at pwilliams@nea.org.

Phadra Williams Tuitt, Ed.D.
Organizational Specialist
National Education Association
NEA Center For Organizing
Southeast Region
pwilliams@nea.org
(205) 249-4229 (cell)

Election Day: Tuesday, Novembert 6, 2012

It is critical that our members voices are heard. Please remind everyone where to and deadlines for voting. Many local and state measures and candidates depend on our participation on Tuesday. If you already voted then please remind your friends and neighbors to vote. Celebrate the victories and organize for the next battles.

http://oregonvotes.org