Budgeting for equitable student completions

Abstract

Public community colleges have struggled with reduced funding allocations, unstable enrollments, low completion rates, and growing racial equity gaps while facing increased accountability for outcomes. As a result, public community colleges are trying to determine how to efficiently use limited funds to effectively meet equitable student outcomes. To that end, this mixed methods study identified budget development practices and priorities of community and technical colleges in Washington State that had high student achievement outcomes, particularly for underrepresented students of color. Using both descriptive statistics and hierarchal linear modeling, this study first determined there was a statistically significant difference in student completion rates in Washington State community and technical colleges when comparing white students and underrepresented students of color. Subsequent interviews with five colleges identified how high-performing community colleges in Washington State allocated funds within their institutional budgets. Several themes emerged from interviews demonstrating that there are opportunities for colleges to improve their student completion outcomes including: consistent institutional practices, structured budget planning process, intentional focus on completion, and early adopters of equity work. Based on the findings of this study, and their relation to current literature, several practice recommendations to improve budgetary practices at public community colleges are proposed.--Author's abstract