North Carolinians have long insisted that access and affordability are essential to higher education in our state.  That’s true, but increasingly, completion is just as important – not just getting into a university, but getting out with a degree.

In their new book Lesson Plan, former college presidents William Bowen (Princeton) and Michael McPherson (Macalester) say graduation rates are “simply too low to ensure the success of this country in a rapidly evolving global economy, and too low to give many Americans the improved life chances they deserve.”

They say the student debt “crisis” is overblown – graduates with good earnings prospects should have little trouble paying off student debt that on average amounts to a car loan.

But they note that debt does pose a burden for students who start college and leave without a degree, or those who enroll in low-return programs such as those offered by many for-profit colleges.

Among other recommendations, the authors say Americans should aim to broaden educational attainment, not just access, and invest in institutions that educate students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Our university system’s current strategic plan, adopted in 2013, set a goal to raise the percentage of North Carolinians with at least a bachelor’s degree from 26% to 32% by 2018, and to 37% by 2025.

In addition to community-college transfers and military veterans, the 2013 plan focused on re-enrolling “part-way home” students – those who complete some college but leave before getting a degree.  (Through personalized advising, UNC Charlotte’s 49er Finish program has been particularly successful at helping former students complete their degrees.)

As the Board of Governors that oversees North Carolina’s public universities develops a new strategic plan, the board is considering performance-based funding for campuses that will likely include graduation rates as one measure. UNC President Margaret Spellings says she hopes to develop a funding model by December.

While higher education is unquestionably about more than numbers, Spellings appears to understand that the metrics for dispensing funds based on performance need to vary from campus to campus.

“Anyone can take a bunch of valedictorians and get them in and out of college,” she often says.

In particular, Spellings appears to appreciate the specialized role the state’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) play.

“Our challenge as a state and nation is to provide first-generation students with affordable, high-quality education that’s convenient and realistic for them….  I see the HBCUs on the front lines of meeting the needs of the students who most need them,” she says.

Elizabeth City State University Chancellor Thomas Conway told the Board of Governors in July that students’ level of preparation might well be different at Elizabeth City than at UNC-Chapel Hill.

“You have to be careful in talking about the minimum level of preparation and whether the institution is prepared to meet the students where they are,” Conway said.

Speaking to the Board of Governors last week, Matthew Pellish of the Washington-based Education Advisory Board outlined a variety of ways states structure performance funding.

Some tie a large percentage of campus funds to metrics.  Others award bonuses.  Some measure graduation rates, academic progress such as sophomore retention, or graduates’ career outcomes.

Pellish warned that some states have seen negative consequences, though – some schools begin to admit fewer low-income students because they typically have lower graduation rates.

Graduation rates at North Carolina’s state universities already exceed the national average for public institutions by nearly 10 percentage points.

But Board of Governors member Joe Knott noted in July that graduation rates don’t describe the quality of an education.

“If you financially incentivize schools to produce graduates, I can almost guarantee there will be more graduates produced,” Knott said.  “However, how do you guarantee that the diploma represents real education, as opposed to just going through the process?”

How the board will measure that remains to be seen.