In a new Op-Ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Partners' president Dr. James Toscano weighed in on Virginia's status as a "national laggard" on accountability-based funding for public colleges and universities. The op-ed follows up on a new report – recently highlighted in a news article – by left-of-center think tank Education Reform calling Virginia's current higher education finance system "irrational, inequitable, and unjust."

In the op-ed, Toscano highlights Florida's performance funding model in which universities are incentivized to increase degree attainment, postgraduate wages, and affordability. He also notes some notable "experiments" in Virginia to tie small amounts of state dollars to affordability and student outcomes.

Toscano then challenges the next governor of Virginia, elected this coming November, to take action in pushing the needle on higher education funding reform.

When it comes to leveraging roughly $5 billion for colleges and universities over the next biennium, a more accountability-based approach can ensure taxpayer dollars are tied to clear and positive results for all Virginians.

Read the full Op-Ed HERE.

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