Finds that: (1) Significant progress has been made through a number of plans and policies to establish coherent and transparent funding and policy objectives, resources, and expectations for public four-year institutions of higher education;

(2) Developing performance agreements at each of the public four-year institutions will provide that the proper balance of tuition, state support, and financial aid will be tied to each institution's unique role, mission, student profile, and contribution to achieving the goals of the state's strategic master plan for higher education;

(3) Aligning and simplifying the process for preparing, submitting, and processing performance agreements for the institutions with the state budget process is necessary to provide adequate time for negotiation and deliberation;

(4) A forum should be created to develop an agreement among policymakers and institution leaders about how institutions' strategic plans, resources, and outcomes align with the state higher education strategic master plan, as adopted by the legislature, for a planning horizon of six years; and

(5) Each institution should develop a performance agreement that will be submitted in conjunction with its biennial budget request.