(WORT)–Despite some university administrators’ efforts to keep it a secret, most Wisconsinites are aware that the University of Wisconsin System has struggled to absorb the $250 million in state funding cuts approved by Governor Scott Walker in last year’s budget.

But earlier this month, the governor said he might be willing to approve additional state funding for the UW in the next state budget. Although his office has yet to release any details, Walker subsequently told reporters that any such support would likely be tied to performance-based measures similar to what was implemented for Wisconsin’s technical college system in 2013.

Could this represent a desperately needed reversal in the UW’s fortunes?

Nicholas Hillman, a professor of educational leadership and policy analysis at UW-Madison, researches performance-based funding models in public higher education. He says that although they’re “politically popular,” they often introduce more volatility and can create “perverse incentives” to restrict access to college.