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DeWine budget adds wage‑outcomes to higher‑ed funding, expands merit scholarship and funds campus consolidation
Summary
Chancellor Mike Duffy told the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee that Governor DeWine’s FY26–27 executive budget adds employment outcomes to performance funding, expands the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, pilots direct and guaranteed admissions, and proposes an $82 million revolving loan fund for campus square‑footage reductions.
Chancellor Mike Duffy of the Ohio Department of Higher Education presented Governor Mike DeWine’s executive higher‑education budget to the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee, outlining changes he said will tie state funding more closely to student outcomes and workforce needs.
Duffy said the state will deepen its emphasis on performance‑based funding by adding employment outcomes to the formula, describing that change as a “modest step” that initially accounts for about 5 percent of total state share of instruction (SSI). “This is return on investment,” he said, arguing that wage and employment data will better align college incentives with student and employer expectations.
The proposal maintains and expands several student aid programs. Duffy said the Governor’s Merit Scholarship would fund additional cohorts and provide $5,000 per year to students who rank in the top 5 percent of their high school class, and he defended guaranteed and direct admissions pilots that would automatically admit qualified Ohio high‑school graduates to participating campuses. “If you make the grade, you won't have to worry about getting into the public university of your choice in Ohio,” he told the committee.
On need‑based aid, Duffy said the budget retains the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) eligibility and award amounts enacted in the last operating budget and includes an approximately $23 million increase in the line item for FY26. Other line items called out in testimony include a $2 million per‑year increase for the STEM‑focused Choose Ohio First scholarship, continued funding for Ohio work‑ready and TalentReady grants ($10 million each per year), and roughly $5 million annually for the War Orphans and Severely Disabled Veterans' Children Scholarship.
To address long‑term enrollment declines and underused campus space, the budget proposes an $82 million one‑time revolving loan fund to help institutions strategically reduce square footage; Duffy said funds would be administered in consultation with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission and prioritized for institutions that have experienced enrollment declines.
Committee members pressed Duffy on several topics: retention of students who attend college in Ohio, the risk that wage‑based metrics favor higher‑paying fields, and whether statutory tuition guarantees are preserved. Duffy told members the tuition guarantee protections remain permanent law and said work‑based learning and employer partnerships are central to retaining students in‑state.
The committee did not take final action on any bills during the hearing; testimony and question‑and‑answer exchanges will inform committee deliberations as House members consider budget language.
