Tight budget times have made states reluctant to tie financial support for public colleges to their performance, according to an annual report released this month by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York at Albany.

The number of states that this year used "performance funding," an approach that links state appropriations "directly and tightly" to how well public colleges meet certain standards, fell to 15 from 18. The number of states that used "performance budgeting," which takes colleges' performance loosely into account in drafting state budgets, fell to 21 from 26.

Instead, states are turning to "performance reporting," in which reports on colleges' performance have no formal link to allocations of state funds. Colleges send the reports to governors, legislators, and other state leaders.

"Far from being a precursor for other performance programs, performance reporting is now perceived as a less controversial and less costly alternative," the report said.

The popularity of policies tying appropriations to performance began to wane last year, the report said, after several years of growing support.

The text of the report is available online at http://rockinst.org/publications/higher_ed/6thSurvey.pdf.