Gloomy statistics on student outcomes and scarce resources due to state budget cuts have crippled community colleges for decades. Coincidentally, the nation has lost its once held prominent place of world leader in higher education, while internally, the need for more skilled workers with college credentials has become ever more pressing to sustain the economic demands. This dire situation caused an increased public scrutiny on colleges and universities and led lawmakers to call for more accountability in higher education. Reform after reform took place in recent years, culminating in a funding method known as performance-based funding, which is a complete departure from the traditional enrollment-based model of state funding to the adoption of a funding mechanism based on student outcomes. The current performance-based funding started with few states and is now a widespread approach being increasingly embraced across the nation. As more and more states continue to implement this new funding method for colleges and universities, a national dialogue on the role of faculty members appears to suggest that this key stakeholder group is left out. This study investigated the perceptions that faculty members at a large Midwest community college have of their engagement in institutional activities in the context of performance-based?funding. Data were collected through open-ended interviews with full-time faculty and additional sources. The outcomes of the study confirmed that faculty are still unfamiliar with the details of performance funding. The findings also determined that faculty perceive the funding requirements as consistent with their ideals of teaching and learning but are concerned about unintended consequences. Furthermore, the study results revealed that educators believe that faculty advising is crucial to the enhancement of student success, and that institutional commitment to exploratory use of data along with intentional professional development opportunities are paramount to improving student outcomes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]