A plan formally presented to Ohio Gov. John Kasich Friday could alter the way Ohio public universities receive instructional funding from the state.
Kasich praised the proposal to change the current formula for State Share of Instruction (SSI) distribution to one that is based primarily on graduation rates and class completion, instead of enrollment.
Ohio University President Roderick McDavis served on the commission, led by Ohio State University President Gordon Gee, to change the formula. The group, which Kasich formed in September, comprised presidents of Ohio’s public higher education institutions, including community colleges.
“At the end of the day, you’ll be role models for other institutions across the country,” Kasich said to the commission Friday. “And we ought to talk about it — we ought to shout it from the highest buildings.”
Kasich iterated the innovation behind the plan, which McDavis later said could make Ohio the first state in the country to embrace such a change. If the Ohio General Assembly passes the plan, 50 percent of SSI funding will be determined by graduation rates; currently, graduation rates drive only 20 percent of funding
“The real winners of this are the students in the state of Ohio,” McDavis said. “First and foremost, students are directly tied to graduation, which is why students go to school — to graduate.”
If funding is driven by college completion, it will create more incentives to make sure students graduate, McDavis said.
“Now, all of us will try to work hard to create incentives for students to get to the finish lines faster than they would normally get to the finish line,” he said.
The proposal won’t only affect Ohio’s 13 public universities, McDavis said. The commission also recommended changes to the funding formula for all community colleges.
“It’s so hard to get three or four universities to agree on anything, much less all of the presidents of the two-year and four-year institutions in Ohio. … We all said ‘yes,’” McDavis said.
Gee said he and the commission were grateful that Kasich placed his trust in them, adding that the members focused on the state of Ohio instead of their individual universities.
“We collectively have made a historic decision,” Gee said. “There was collective sacrifice for the common good today. … And we’re going to lead this nation; there’s no doubt about that.”
bv111010@ohiou.edu
