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Outcomes Based Funding Formula

The Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) has released several tools to examine the outcomes-based funding formula (OBF), which allocates state funds to Tennessee’s public colleges and universities. On this page, you will find two documents about the 2015-2020 funding model, interactive dashboards, and a video that provides context for and explanations of the dashboards.

  • An Explanation of the Outcomes-Based Funding Formula (2015-2020explains the formula, its components, and how it generates state funding for higher education. 
  • A second document, The Outcomes-Based Funding Formula: Profiles of Tennessee’s Public Universities and Community Colleges, outlines the performance of each community college and four-year institution under the 2015-2020 funding formula.
  • The two dashboard reports - one for community colleges and one for four-year institutions - illustrate part of the outcomes-based funding formula, focusing on institutional outcomes and final state appropriations for 2020-21 and 2021-22. Formula points, which drive state appropriations, consist of weighted outcomes, fixed costs, and quality assurance funding. Since outcomes make up the majority (78 percent) of points in the formula, the first page on each report is dedicated to institutional outcomes. The second page shows an institution’s state appropriations. 
  • Accompanying the dashboards is a video that provides context for and explanations of the dashboards.