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.

Questions for boards.

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

Mission and Model

Consequential Questions:

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

Sources:

All resources.