SkillLink is a joint venture of Owens State Community College, Ameritech, and the Ohio Manufacturer's Association. The stability, equity and adequacy of the formula historically has been based on enrollments because the state wished to encourage colleges and universities to enroll more students, and not simply to use state dollars to support the status quo. The three budget components in support of the high performance campus form a whole. We must have support for all three components for the concept to succeed. This will refine and make much more powerful the mission direction that the instructional subsidy formula now supports in broad ways.
Moneys here are to be used to trigger strategic innovation and measured risk-taking.
Colleges and universities will not thrive in the next century using the methods of the last century. We need continuous innovation, creativity, and the testing of new ideas, especially concerning the application of technology in instruction, the improvement of two-year campuses service to communities, and in the creation of the Ohio Teaching Academy. But transformation to the kind of campuses Ohio needs for the next millennium requires significant change. The distribution of funds is based primarily on programs and enrollments. Most state support will continue to be distributed via the formula.