Performance Funding and Stakeholder Perceptions: The Rise and Fall of the Louisiana GRAD Act

Performance based funding ideology creates a disconnect in communication ranging from state coordinating officials to academics responsible for the actual education to the students (Shin, 2010). The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze higher education stakeholders’ perceptions of performance funding by examining the development, design, implementation, and execution of the Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomies for Diplomas Act (GRAD Act) and offer potential solutions based on the findings. A qualitative study using phenomenological methodology, and theoretical perspectives in the literature, was conducted amongst higher education participants involved with the GRAD Act at the state and campus levels in Louisiana. The findings from this study revealed shared experiences of higher education stakeholders in Louisiana concerning the development, design, implementation, and execution of the GRAD Act and strategies that can be useful in developing the next stages of a unified plan to meet and exceed higher education goals in Louisiana. The results of this study can be utilized as Louisiana leaders consider future funding policies for higher education. Overall, this study sought to add to the body of research on performance funding ideology by analyzing stakeholders’ perceptions of the GRAD Act and sharing implications for future development.