Community College Finance: A Guide for Institutional Leaders

by Christopher M. Mullin, David S. Baime, David S. Honeyman

Smart financial management means more students served Community College Finance provides an introduction to best practices for community college leaders and their boards, with guidance on the complex regulations, processes, and considerations surrounding the financial management of these unique institutions. As community colleges continue to increase in importance, this book provides non-technical yet extensive information to guide current and future leaders toward the establishment of effective processes to secure and maintain the funding that is so crucial to the education and future of millions of students nationwide. Readers will gain insight into the background and foundation of community college finance and learn the essentials of practice in today's economic and political climate. The discussion covers student financial aid, tuition, budgeting, and more, and explores the future of federal policy and what it means for the institutions that play such a critical role in the nation's educational system. Over eight million students attend more than a thousand community colleges in the United States today, and those colleges are now facing the retirement of their founding generation of leadership. Meanwhile, the balance between traditional funding sources is shifting as new models and approaches are being implemented, and comprehensive, guiding resources are lacking. This book fills that need with expert insight reflecting current realities and a true understanding of the challenges community colleges face. Readers At a time when a difficult economy raises questions about the value of higher education, the value that community colleges offer becomes ever more clear. Community College Finance provides the guidance leaders need to help their institutions flourish.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2015

Reviews

[Christine Zibas · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than 8 million students attend community colleges each year, so it's a little surprising that the last comprehensive look at the issue of finance in this setting was in the 1970s. The world has changed a lot since then, and continues to evolve in the aftermath of recent financial crises (2008 meltdown and its aftermath) and the ongoing budget crises affecting both individual states and the federal government as a whole (federal deficit).

As much as community colleges would like to believe in the vision President Obama articulated when he suggested that what the country needs is for all community colleges to be free to students in the future, it seems an unlikely scenario, given the budget priorities of the current Congress. In addition, with no go-to information (such as that highlighted in this new book), Congress has had little to rely on in terms of solid information about community college funding for their decisions thus far.

In large part, the information on the topic of educational finance has focused on 4-year colleges and universities when it deals with higher education at all. Now Mullin, Baime, and Honeyman have filled an important gap, with forethought about how this valuable educational force of community collges (important not just for graduating high school seniors, but those already long in the workforce) can sustain itself (or not) into the future.

Mind you, this book is heavy on charts and graphs and not targeted necessarily at the lay reader. Yet everyone should care about how all of the factors (tuition, student aid, maintaining and expanding community colleges, and taxation) come together to benefit students today and tomorrow.

This book provides some much needed insight and raises important questions about dealing with the financial realities ahead. Community college leaders will need to be resourceful to keep their institutions alive and thriving, and this book may be an important first step in addressing the issues that will enable community colleges to get the support they so richly deserve.