Northwest Florida State College Celebrates Advancement in Performance Based Funding
July 9, 2018
NICEVILLE, FL– Northwest Florida State College is celebrating the announcement of its advancement to the Silver category in the Florida College System’s Performance-Based Funding Model.
“For the first time since the inception of the Performance-Based Funding Model in the Florida College System, NWF State has been designated to the Silver category,” said Dr. Devin Stephenson. “This is a significant move upward for the college and the attainment of one of the significant goals in our College’s 2017-2020 Strategic Plan.”
The Florida College System first adopted the Performance-Based Funding Model in 2013, and since that time, Northwest Florida State College has ranked no higher than the Bronze category. Colleges that fall in the bronze or purple categories do not receive additional state-allocated performance dollars. Measurements in the Performance-Based Funding model include retention, completion, job placement/continuing education, and entry-level wages.
“Since 2013, we have lost approximately $1.3 million in “new” funding that we would have received had we been in the Silver or Gold categories instead of Bronze,” said Randy White, NWF State’s Vice President of Administrative Services/Chief Financial Officer. “By advancing to the Silver category this year, we will receive approximately $480K in additional funding.”
In 2017, the College took bold steps to increase its efforts in state reporting by hiring Pauline Anderson as Dean of Institutional Research to develop and implement a course of action to improve the college’s data and research initiatives.
The College’s first step to accurately measure our progress was to identify the First-Time-in-College student cohort for Performance-Based Funding. “We have scrubbed the data to make sure that the cohort, 741 students, is accurate for state reporting. We are actively tracking our student cohort to ensure their success and improve upon our student outreach strategies,” said Anderson.
Second, NWF State has established procedures to assist in identifying gaps and developing actions to improve processes. “We have implemented a new Auto Graduation process that allows us to graduate students who have the credits to obtain a credential. The Auto Graduation process has increased the number of graduates by 64% since December 2016,” Anderson stated.
Third, the college initiated a Call Center in the Student Success Division that has been critical to student retention efforts. The Call Center is staffed by one full-time employee and seven part-time employees who are calling students to remind them of important deadlines concerning admissions, enrollment, and financial aid. The Call Center team is also contacting students who are near completion to encourage them to enroll and complete their college credential or transfer credits. The Student Success team has also worked with college faculty to communicate to students the critical deadlines for enrollment and financial aid.
Northwest Florida State College’s Points Earned in Performance Funding Model 2015-16 to 2018-19
| 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | |
| Retention | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
| Completion | 6.67 | 5.33 | 3.67 | 2.33 |
| Job Placement/Continuing Education | 2.25 | 6.89 | 10.00 | 9.38 |
| Entry-Level Wages | 0.30 | 3.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 |
“This year NWF earned the maximum number of points allotted to the retention measure, moving the college from a 1 to a 10 out of 10,” Anderson said, “This measure examines the rate to which our First-Time-in-College students enrolled in the prior fall term and re-enroll for the subsequent fall term.”
The College has fared well the last two years in job placement/continuing education and entry-level wages, a trend that was continued into this year. “The success of our efforts catapulted NWF State to the Silver category,” said Dr. Stephenson. “I am proud of our faculty and staff and the great strides they have taken to move the needle and achieve Silver status for our College. Our students are succeeding in their academic pursuits and career goals at greater levels than before,” Stephenson said. “The real ROI for our efforts will be recognized in the success of our students. That is why we exist, and that is why we serve!”