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Neoliberal theories--whether the new public management, principal-agent theory, or performance management--have provided the rationale for sweeping reforms in the governance and operation of higher education. This paper expands our understanding of neoliberal theory and practice by examining a leading neoliberal reform: performance-based funding (PBF) for higher education in the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. Our analysis of PBF examines not only its impacts but also its origins and implementation. Neoliberal theory has been used not only "prospectively" to design and argue for certain public policies but also "retrospectively" to analyse the origins and implementation of neoliberal policy. Hence, this paper examines this retrospective neoliberal analysis in order to determine how well neoliberal theory helps us understand the origins and implementation of neoliberal policy: in this case, the socio-political forces that gave rise to PBF; and the political and organizational features of the processes by which PBF was implemented.

There is a perfect storm brewing in post-secondary education (PSE) in Ontario. Four major forces are combining in this storm, an ever growing higher education participation rate, the growing demand for effective and timely knowledge delivery, the need to drastically alter how one views teaching and learning, and accelerated technological changes. These forces are compelling educators to re-think their roles in, and out of the classroom. During the summer of 2012, Glen Murray, the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), hosted a number of round table discussions with stakeholders from colleges and universities across the province to discuss these critical issues and attempt to formulate a strategy for sustainable change in PSE in Ontario (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities [MTCU], 2012). This paper reviews the forces driving the need for change in teaching and learning and presents emergent and existing technologies that may help to transform PSE in Ontario.

Neoliberal theories—whether the new public management, principal-agent theory, or performance management—have provided the rationale for sweeping reforms in the governance and operation of higher education. This paper expands our understanding of neoliberal theory and practice by examining a leading neoliberal reform: performance-based funding (PBF) for higher education in the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. Our analysis of PBF examines not only its impacts but also its origins and implementation. Neoliberal theory has been used not only prospectively to design and argue for certain public policies but also retrospectively to analyse the origins and implementation of neoliberal policy. Hence, this paper examines this retrospective neoliberal analysis in order to determine how well neoliberal theory helps us understand the origins and implementation of neoliberal policy: in this case, the socio-political forces that gave rise to PBF; and the political and organizational features of the processes by which PBF was implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]