The mere mention of so-called "performance funding" makes college presidents and the higher education community nervous. It's an understandable reaction to a concept that too often results in an overly complex outcome. Still, the basic principle of "investing the limited resources states have in the results they want" is fundamentally sound--and an essential step for states to take "in combination with" other key policy reforms in order to significantly increase student success and boost college completion. It's time for a better, cleaner, simpler approach. Let's replace complex funding schemes that are fed into a "black box" at state budget agencies and produce nearly unpredictable outcomes. Higher education leaders need certainty. And elected officials want accountability for results and a funding approach that benefits students. Complete College America believes all of these outcomes are within reach, by using a funding model built on a straightforward structure that values the most important goals--access, progress, and success--and is simple to customize, and, most important, easy to understand. It is called Value-Added Funding. This article discusses how this funding works.