HB 565

This act is the College and Higher Education Excellence and Results (CHEER) Act. This act adds Chapter 5B to Title 16, Code of Alabama 1975, to: (1) establish the CHEER Fund in the State Treasury to be administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) to consist of all funds appropriated to ACHE for outcomes-based funding for four-year colleges and universities and other funds; (2) establish an outcomes-based higher education funding program beginning in the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2026, through which institutions of higher education meeting specific eligibility criteria may receive bonus funding for achieving performance outcome category goals; (3) establish the Outcomes-Based Higher Education Funding Coordinating Committee to select, in discussion with institutions, the performance outcome category goals, collect data needed from institutions to award funds, make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the funding, and annually publish a report on the implementation and impact of the program; (4) require all bonus funds be used for achieving performance outcome category goals, subject to exceptions. This act also supersedes any previous outcomes-based funding program, including those developed by the Alabama Community College Advisory Council on outcomes-based funding under Act 2017-217.