Legislators propose linking state higher education funding to graduation rates

By Koran Addo. Two high-ranking members of the state Legislature are proposing legislation that would more closely link the amount of money colleges and universities get from the state with a school’s graduation rate. In such an outcome-based model, schools would have to meet the average graduation rate of their peer institutions in the South in order to receive their full share of state funding. Louisiana institutions get about 40 percent of their funding from the state and the remaining 60 percent from students in the form of tuition. State Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, said Wednesday that Louisiana has a problem when it comes to funding colleges and universities. Read more...