ABSTRACT
Increasingly, state governments are implementing policies and practices that either directly or indirectly focus on college students’ learning outcomes. This article examines the emerging context for these policies and practices, then explores various state efforts that potentially influence undergraduate outcomes. Among the policies and practices considered are several relating to funding, including standardized state-funding formulas, incentive-based funding systems, targeted budget allocations, faculty salary policies, tuition policies for public institutions, and taxation policies and practices. Also considered are state policies and practices relating directly to academic programming, staffing, and accountability, including institutional mission differentiation, developmental education policies, transfer and articulation policies and practices, state-mandated admissions standards, and polices and practices relating to distance learning. The article concludes with strategies to enhance policy effectiveness in this arena.
