The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems has
released a new report looking at higher education funding and if
performance is relative to financial resources. Now the findings of the
report
of what one might expect from some in the higher education
establishment – more money equals better performance – but there is an
interesting local connection.
The report examines the
performance and financial standing of institutions in Colorado and the
UNC system. It finds that Colorado is “an example of a state with
relatively low funding per (full-time student)” and North Carolina “an
example of a state with relatively high funding per (full-time
student). Both states perform similarly but with Colorado performing
slightly better according to the report’s charts. This led the
researchers to ask, in regards to North Carolina:
- Can North Carolina’s public research institutions perform better given their relatively high level of resources?
That is a key question for taxpayers to be asking of the UNC
system, given the fact that the state spends more than $2 billion each
year on the 16 campuses. Colorado and other states have proved in the
past that you don’t need to continue to throw money at higher education
in order to get results. North Carolina needs to learn those lessons as
well.
