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ERIC Number: EJ1263229
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0098-9495
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Understanding the Relationship between Equity and Efficiency: Towards a Concept of Funding Adequacy for Community Colleges
Melguizo, Tatiana; Witham, Keith; Fong, Kristen; Chi, Edward
Journal of Education Finance, v43 n2 p195-216 Fall 2017
Community colleges are the linchpin of the nation's current efforts to increase the proportion of adults with postsecondary education. Yet, despite the significant historical role community colleges have played in expanding access to higher education, there are reasons to question whether community colleges are equipped to supply these additional credentials. Specifically, community colleges nationally face two related challenges: they provide access to large numbers of disadvantaged and academically underprepared students, and they typically receive lower levels of per-student funding relative to other sectors with which to do so. In this paper, we consider the relationship between these challenges by framing them in terms of equity and efficiency as goals of higher education funding policy. Specifically, we develop a simple model that policymakers can use to test whether current state or system funding formulas are achieving their desired goals in terms of equitable and efficient funding. In addition, we propose four different formulas and use data from the largest community college system in the nation to illustrate the tradeoffs in equity and efficiency between those formulas. The results suggest that a "balanced" formula that provides additional funding to districts serving more low-income students and rewards them for improving outcomes, might be a first step towards a conceptual understanding of "adequacy" in community college funding.
University of Illinois Press. 1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820-6903. Tel: 217-244-0626; Fax: 217-244-8082; e-mail: journals@uillinois.edu; Web site: http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals.php
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A