Community College Finance: A Guide for Institutional Leaders

Marc Notes: 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. Table of Contents: List of Figures and Tables ix Acknowledgments xiii Preface xv About the Authors xxi Sources of Revenue 1. Factors Influencing Community College Finance 3 2. The Shifting Balance of Revenue 23 3. Institutional Support 41 4. Tuition and Fees and the Cost of Attendance 59 5. Student Financial Aid 77 6. Infrastructure and Funding Issues 93 Expending Fiscal Resources 7. Institutional Expenditures 113 8. Aligning Mission and Money 131 9. Costs, Efficiency, and Productivity 149 10. College as an Investment 165 Leadership Resources 11. Funding Formulas 185 12. Setting Prices 199 13. Managing a Fiscal Crisis 217 14. Tenets of Advocacy 229 15. Future Forces in Community College Finance 243 Appendix: Principles of Taxation 255 References 269 Index 291Biographical Note: CHRISTOPHER M. MULLIN is assistant vice chancellor for policy and research at the State University System of Florida, Board of Governors. He is the author of "Higher Education Finance Research: Policy, Politics, and Practice" and coeditor of "Data Use in the Community College: New Directions for Institutional Research." DAVID S. BAIME has served as the chief architect of federal policy and strategy from the community college perspective for nearly 20 years as senior vice president of government relations and policy analysis at the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, DC. DAVID S. HONEYMAN is professor emeritus at the School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education at University of Florida, Gainesville. He is the author of "A Struggle to Survive: Funding Higher Education in the Next Century."Jacket Description/Flap: C"ommunity 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 taxation, 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 will delve into taxation's effects on funding and the cost of attendance, develop a budgeting style and process that serves the institution, learn to manage fiscal crises effectively without reducing standards, and consider the future of federal policy and how it will affect budgeting. 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. Publisher Marketing: 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 will: Delve into factors affecting funding and the cost of attendance Develop a budgeting style and process that serves the institution Learn to manage fiscal crises effectively without reducing standards Consider the future of federal policy and how it will affect budgeting 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.

Contributor Bio:  Mullin, Christopher M Christopher M. Mullin is Assistant Vice Chancellor at the Florida Department of Education, having formerly served as the Program Director for Policy Analysis at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in Washington, D. C. His research has focused on the evolution and development of state postsecondary education systems, with specific focus on community colleges and fiscal policy.