Episode #8: On Higher Education And Performance Funding With Guest Nathan Favero

Nathan Favero is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. His research focuses on internal management, performance, research methodology, race/ethnicity, and customer satisfaction in the context of public institutions. Most of his empirical work has considered these topics in the context of education, drawing data from public school systems in Texas, New York City, California, and Denmark. His research has been published in a variety of academic journals, including the Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Public Administration Review, the International Public Management Journal, and Public Administration. Institutions of higher education serve multiple purposes from the micro individual level to the macro societal level. They are places where knowledge is both produced and shared; they serve a practical purpose as well a theoretical one; they have a long-lasting influence for an individual’s economic well-being, as well as strong impacts for democratic citizenship and values in society. However, there is a dichotomy in the purpose of higher education in the US, split between the goal of educating students and that of producing academic research, which can often stand at odds with each other. Drawing on substantial experience and knowledge of the American higher education system the host and guest engage in an hour-long discussion about measuring performance in higher education as a tool to understand its impact in educating students. One key piece of the conversation revolves around performance based funding, as a carrot and stick policy that rewards good performance of a higher education institution. What are the dangers of a one size fit all policy in higher education? How are students impacted by the policy, and what are macro level repercussions of such an approach? Sources: Favero, N. (2017). The danger of ‘one size funds all’ policies. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-danger-of-one-size-funds-all-policies_us_58e7152ee4b00dd8e016eaa0 To read Dr. Favero’s full bio follow the link: https://www.american.edu/spa/faculty/favero.cfm For the full list of articles published by Dr. Favero follow the link: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KQW0iwMAAAAJ&hl=en To check out Dr. Favero’s work check out his website: http://nathanfavero.com/ Info on Public Problems 101 short course: https://www.facebook.com/events/1993700524209741/ Registration for Public Problems 101 short course: https://drive.google.com/open?id=13dwTXRjceKToBCmJAcS5Rs18tVcvIjKwi8W0BT2ipRA