Community Colleges

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Why this is important.

Community colleges provide accessible and affordable educational opportunities to students who might otherwise consider higher education inaccessible. These open-access institutions are intimately tied to the local community, and their dedication to local workforce development continually strengthens the local industry and economy.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on community college enrollment and the sustainability challenges it poses to the financial business model, governing boards must ensure their institutions continue to provide cost-effective, flexible curriculums to students earning certificates, associate degrees, and occasionally baccalaureate degrees. Now more than ever before, community college governing boards must safeguard attainable pathways and degrees for all students from all walks of life.

Still image from a video showing a woman wearing a dark suit and purple scarf in front of a purple background that includes the letters A, G, B.

Hear from Mary Papazian, PhD, AGB executive vice president, about the importance of community colleges in the higher education ecosystem and creating pathways and connections to help students be successful.

Questions for boards.

Click below to reveal key questions for your board to consider:

Mission and Model

Consequential Questions:

Does our governing board embody our defined mission and strategy? When is the last time we updated our institution’s mission?
Do we know if our current educational and financial model is or is not sustainable for the next 10 years?
Does our institution have a comprehensive enrollment strategy? What other comprehensive strategies do we have, and which are we missing?
Does our board have a system for tracking key financial metrics that provide data relevant to long-term financial decision-making?
Does our governing board have a clear boundary between board policymaking and the president’s leadership and management of the institution?

Sources:

AGB Consulting
Assessing Board Performance: A Practical Guide for College, University, System, and Foundation Boards by Marla J. Bobowick and Merrill P. Schwartz, AGB 2018
“Getting Your Board into Strategy Mode,” AGB Blog Post, November 7, 2019
“Questions Boards Should Ask about Their Enrollment Strategy,” AGB Blog Post by RNL, July 8, 2020
“Realigning Strategy and Footprint to Achieve Fiscal Resilience,” AGB Blog Post by Raina Rose Tagle and Christine Smith, December 1, 2020
Risk Management: An Accountability Guide for University and College Boards, Second Edition by Janice M. Abraham with Sarah Braughler, Liza Kabanova, and Justin Kollinger, AGB 2020
Top Strategic Issues for Boards 2020–2021, AGB 2020

Student Success

Consequential Questions:

Does our institution have an accurate gauge of the breadth of our programming, ranging from programs for students interested in transferring to four-year institutions to programs for students interested in associate degrees or nondegree certificates?
What can we do to better align our students’ outcomes with workforce expectations?

Sources:

Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Consequential Questions:

Are our students able to equitably access all opportunities our institution has to offer?
Has our board conducted a policy audit to assess relevance and impact of key policies on different campus populations?
How diverse is our board? What perspectives are missing from the table and how can the board be more inclusive? How are potential new board members identified?

Sources: