Mark Ferrandino says he has spent at least five years trying to force a conversation on how the state funds its colleges and universities. The House speaker will soon force the issue, introducing a bill to change the funding process.
“It’s frustrating to me how we fund higher education. It is a black box that is unaccountable, and no one can bring a rational argument why the base funding is where it is,” Ferrandino said. “It doesn’t make sense. Let’s step back and start all over again and figure out a way of funding these schools based on rational policy goals.”
At present, the universities present their budget requests to the state, with each school requesting an amount based on discussions with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Ferrandino’s bill would call for funding to be based on the outcome of a formula that takes into account factors such as student retention and graduation rates and for helping at-risk students succeed.
Some of the metrics are almost identical to those presented by the commission and the Colorado Department of Higher Education when it enacted its Master Plan in December 2012. Under the plan, schools signed contracts promising to improve their performance in agreed-upon areas such as those outlined above. Part of the plan calls for schools to possibly receive increased funding based on those outcomes.
“The Master Plan is a relatively new development. We’ve only recently completed all the performance contracts with the institutions,” said Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, who directs the DHE.
But Ferrandino said that while he agrees with the goals of the Master Plan, there are more fundamental concerns to be addressed.
“You have a Master Plan that talks about all these goals, but you have a funding model that doesn’t tie to them,” he said. “The CCHE really tries to work with all the institutions and tries to make sure that everyone comes on board.
“If left alone, CCHE will continue to go down the path of least resistance. … It’s not about the goals of the institutions, it’s about the policy goals of the state.”
Ferrandino’s proposed change comes in the wake of one of the biggest state-funding increases in history. Next year’s budget will see a $100 million increase for higher education, about $60 million more than the current budget.
Ferrandino is scheduled to discuss his bill with the CCHE on Friday, adding that he expects some “pushback” — from the commission and the schools.
On Wednesday, University of Northern Colorado president Kay Norton issued a statement saying “more thoughtful and comprehensive discussions are needed to ensure that this bill will indeed fulfill that intent.”
Ferrandino said he has met with representatives from each school in the state, asking them for feedback. Garcia said most of the schools received the requests in the last couple of days and need time to respond.
“What happens if we’re not having a $60 million funding increase? What if we’re flat two years in a row?” Garcia said.
Ferrandino says he thinks he already has enough support in the legislature to get the bill passed, although the law wouldn’t go into effect until 2015-16.
“I’ve been told, ‘Don’t do this, we don’t want to change this,’ ” he said. “I’m not saying there won’t be any tweaking, but this is the time to change things, to shake things up, when there’s money in the pipeline. … I’m going to try as hard as I can to get this done.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292, acotton@ denverpost.com or twitter. com/anthonycottondp
