An Arkansas panel has recommended tying higher education funding to factors such as degree completion, a move that supporters say will help make the case that the state's colleges and universities need more money.
The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board on Friday adopted the framework for a new "outcome-based" funding plan for the state's colleges and universities. Currently, most of the state's higher education funding formula is tied to student enrollment.
If lawmakers approve the change next year, the board would vote on a more detailed funding formula that it would use for its funding recommendations beginning in 2018.
The board also called on the Legislature to increase higher education funding, which has remained flat for several years.