Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Background:

Community colleges remain one of the most underfunded sectors of higher education in the United States, raising concerns about fiscal strain as these institutions continue to “do more with less.” Leveraging newly available data, this study explores the fiscal health of community colleges, including those that “do more” by expanding their missions to include community college baccalaureate (CCB) programs.

Research Question:

We address the following questions: (1) How do fiscal health metrics vary across institutional characteristics, including CCB- and non-CCB granting status and time? (2) What is the relationship between select fiscal health metrics (i.e., Composite Financial Index [CFI]) and CCB adoption?

Research Design:

Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), we first construct multiple measures of fiscal well-being, including standalone measures (e.g., net position), composite measures (e.g., CFI), and binary indicators of fiscal health. Using descriptive and regression-based techniques, we identify trends in community colleges’ fiscal health over time and examine the relationship between CCB adoption and institutional fiscal well-being.

Conclusions:

We find that smaller, urban community colleges face more fiscal precarity than their peers, though defining which institutions are “fiscally well” varies greatly across financial metrics, suggesting care should be taken when using these measures. Regarding CCBs, we find no systematic evidence of a significant relationship between institutional financial well-being and CCB adoption. Although CCB adoption may be a costly endeavor, adoptive institutions are not overextending themselves financially in order to address the baccalaureate needs of their communities.

Keywords

Community colleges fiscal health baccalaureate education descriptive

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Association of Community Colleges. (2024). Fast facts 2024. https://www.aacc.nche.edu/research-trends/fast-facts/

Anderson

R. E.

(1985). Does money matter? The Journal of Higher Education, 56(6), 623–639.

Bastedo

Gumport

(2003). Access to what? Mission differentiation and academic stratification in U.S. public higher education. Higher Education, 46, 341–359.

Baum

Cohn

(2023). Variation in community college funding levels. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/variation-community-college-funding-levels

Bloch

Mitterle

(2017). On stratification in changing higher education: The “analysis of status” revisited. Higher Education, 73, 929–946. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-017-0113-5

Blom

Washington

Rainer

Chien

Kelchen

(2020). IPEDS finance user guide. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/ipeds-finance-user-guide

Bottorff

E. A.

(2011). The community college baccalaureate: A study of capital costs in Florida (Publication No. 3480600) [Doctoral dissertation, Florida Atlantic University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Bragg

(2024). Tracking the growth of CCB degrees in the U.S. New results and important perspectives. Community College Baccalaureate Association. https://www.accbd.org/category/research-and-publication/

Bragg

Harmon

(2024). Twenty frequently asked questions about community college baccalaureate degrees. Community College Baccalaureate Association. https://www.accbd.org/category/research-and-publication/

10.

Bray

N. J.

Till

G. A.

D’Amico

Katsinas

S. G.

(2023). Emerging from COVID-19: The 2022 report of finance and access issues. Journal of Education Finance, 48(3), 251–266.

11.

Britton

Rall

R. M.

Commodore

(2023). The keys to endurance: An investigation of the institutional factors relating to the persistence of historically black colleges and universities. The Journal of Higher Education, 94(3), 310–332.

12.

Bulman

Fairlie

(2022). The impact of COVID-19 on community college enrollment and student success: Evidence from California administrative data. Journal of Education Finance and Policy, 17(4), 745–764.

13.

Burns

Bryer

Heckert

Weeden

Brown

(April, 2023). A dream derailed? Investigating the causal effects of college closures on student outcomes. State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED629845

14.

Carlson

(2024). Why it can be so difficult to gauge a college’s financial health. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-it-can-be-so-difficult-to-gauge-a-colleges-financial-health

15.

Carpentier

(2021). Three stories of institutional differentiation: Resource, mission, and social inequalities in higher education. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 5(2), 197–241.

16.

Century Foundation Working Group on Community College Financial Resources. (2019). Recommendations for providing community colleges with the resources they need. https://production-tcf.imgix.net/app/uploads/2019/04/25171942/recommendation_commcollege_2019.pdf

17.

Cheslock

J. J.

(2025). Do not discard $16 billion: Accounting for IPEDS administrative unit observations. Research in Higher Education, 66(6), 1–16.

18.

Cheslock

J. J.

Ortagus

J. C.

Umbricht

M. R.

Wymore

(2016). The cost of producing higher education: An exploration of theory, evidence, and institutional policy. In Smart

(Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (pp. 349–392). Springer International.

19.

Community College Baccalaureate Association. (2024). State inventory. https://www.accbd.org/state-inventory/

20.

Davies

Zarifa

(2012). The stratification of universities: Structural inequality in Canada and the United States. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 30, 143–158.

21.

Dowd

A. C.

(2004). Community college revenue disparities: What accounts for an urban college deficit? The Urban Review, 36(4), 251–270.

22.

Dowd

A. C.

Rosing

Fernandez Castro

(2020). Trends and perspectives on finance equity and the promise of community colleges. In Perna

L. W.

(Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (pp. 517-588). Springer.

23.

Dowd

A. C.

Shieh

L. T.

(2013). Community college financing: Equity, efficiency, and accountability. In The NEA Almanac of Higher Education (pp. 37–65). National Education Association.

24.

Doyle

W. R.

Dziesinksi

A. B.

Delaney

J. A.

(2021). Modeling volatility in public funding for higher education: An analysis using propensity forests. Journal of Education Finance, 46(4), 563–591.

25.

Faber

Slantcheva-Durst

(2021). The impact of community college attributes on the earnings of their students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 45(9), 687–700.

26.

Floyd

D. L.

Garcia Falconetti

A. M.

Felsher

R. A.

(2012). Applied and workforce baccalaureate models. New Directions for Community Colleges, 158, 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20012

27.

Floyd

Mullin

Ramdin

(2022). Community colleges evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic: What worked, what did not work, and lessons learned. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 46(1–2), 8–11.

28.

Floyd

Skolnik

(2019). The community college baccalaureate movement. In O’Banion

T. U.

(Ed.), 13 ideas that are transforming the community college world (pp. 103–126). Rowman and Littlefield.

29.

Floyd

D. L.

Walker

K. P.

(2008). The community college baccalaureate: Putting the pieces together. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 33, 90–124. DOI: 10.1080/10668920802564667

30.

Fry

(2023). Fewer young men are in college, especially at 4-year schools. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/12/18/fewer-young-men-are-in-college-especially-at-4-year-schools/

31.

Grodsky

Jackson

(2009). Social stratification in higher education. Teachers College Record, 111(10), 2347–2384.

32.

Hearn

J. C.

Burns

(2021). Contingent faculty employment and financial stress in public universities. Journal of Higher Education, 92(3), 331–362.

33.

Higher Learning Commission. (n.d.). Financial and non-financial indicators. https://www.hlcommission.org/accreditation/cycles-and-processes/risk-indicators/

34.

Higher Learning Commission. (2020). Two-year institutions seeking to offer the baccalaureate degree: Considerations of readiness. https://www.hlcommission.org/learning-center/news-and-publications/publications/

35.

Ishitani

T. T.

Kamer

J. A.

(2020). Institutional characteristics and expenditures: Their effects on graduation rates at three different types of community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(9), 644–656.

36.

Jaschik

Lederman

(2019). 2019 survey of community college presidents. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/survey-community-college-presidents-views-range-issues

37.

Jenkins

(2023). Why has community college enrollment declined and what can we do about it? Community College Resource Center Blog. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/easyblog/why-enrollment-declined-what-can-we-do.html

38.

Jenkins

Belfield

(2014). Can community colleges continue to do more with less? Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 46(3), 6–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2014.905417

39.

Katsinas

S. G.

D’Amico

Friedel

Adair

J. L.

Warner

J. L.

Malley

M. S.

(2016). After the great recession: Higher education’s new normal. Education Policy Center.

40.

Katsinas

D. G.

Keeney

N. E.

Bray

N. J.

Alexander

F. K.

Till

G. A.

(2023). Realigning federal and state financing policies for community colleges. Journal of Education Finance, 48(3), 306–334.

41.

Katsinas

S. G.

Malley

M. S.

Warner

J. L.

(2016). On opportunity’s fault line: The precarious nature of rural community college finance. Education Policy Center.

42.

Keeney

N. E.

Katsinas

S. G.

Bray

N. J.

(2023). Local funding and tuition and fee charges at U.S. community colleges. Journal of Education Finance, 48(3), 267–288.

43.

Kelchen

(2025). Can new presidents improve colleges’ financial health? Innovative Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-025-09814-z

44.

Kelchen

Ritter

Webber

(2024). Predicting college closures and financial distress. NBER Working Paper No. 33216. National Bureau of Economic Research.

45.

Kisker

C. B.

Cohen

A. M.

Brawer

F. B.

(2023). The American community college. John Wiley & Sons.

46.

Klempin

Griffin

Monahan

Anderson

Brock

(2024). Pandemic relief spending and recovery strategies: Findings from a survey of community colleges in six states. Community College Research Center. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/pandemic-relief-spending-recovery-strategies-survey-six-states.html

47.

Koh

Katsinas

S. G.

Bray

N. J.

(2019). State financing for public community colleges: A comparative study of fiscal capacity and tax effort. Journal of Education Finance, 45(2), 198–216. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48642624

48.

Kolbe

Baker

B. D.

(2019). Fiscal equity and America’s community colleges. The Journal of Higher Education, 90(1), 111–149.

49.

Loglisci

(2018). An analysis of community college baccalaureate nursing degrees. [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database.

50.

Love

Palmer

(2020). Community college baccalaureate programs: A state policy framework. New America.

51.

Love

Turk

J. M.

(2023). Competing, coordinating, or collaborating: Perspectives on the community college baccalaureate within the context of mission differentiation. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 48(12), 758–772. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2023.2236050

52.

Pender

(2023). Trends in college pricing and student aid 2023. College Board. https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing

53.

Martinez

(2018). Changes, challenges, and opportunities for student services at one baccalaureate degree granting community college. Community College Review, 46(1), 82–103.

54.

Mathis

(2003). Financial challenges, adequacy, and equity in rural schools and communities. Journal of Education Finance, 29(2), 119–136.

55.

May-Trifiletti

J. A.

(2023). Mission expansion in community colleges: Landscape, antecedents, and outcomes. [Unpublished Dissertation, University of Georgia].

56.

McClure

Fryar

A. H.

(2020). Vulnerable, fragile, and endangered? Financial rhetoric and reality at regional public universities. New Directions for Higher Education, 190, 41–58.

57.

McKinney

Hagedorn

L. S.

(2017). Performance-based funding for community colleges: Are colleges disadvantaged by serving the most disadvantaged students? The Journal of Higher Education, 88(2), 159–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2016.1243948

58.

McKinney

Morris

(2010). Examining an evolution: A case study of organizational change accompanying the community college baccalaureate. Community College Review, 37(3), 187–208.

59.

McKinney

Scicchitano

Johns

(2013). A national survey of community college baccalaureate institutions. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 37, 54–63.

60.

Meza

Love

(2023). When Community Colleges Offer a Bachelor’s Degree: A Literature Review on Student Access and Outcomes. New America. https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/when-community-colleges-offer-a-bachelors-degree/

61.

Mohanlingam

Linh

N. T. P.

(2013). Financial health of Australian universities as measured by composite financial index. Advances in Management and Applied Economics, 3(6), 67.

62.

National Student Clearinghouse. (2024). Current term enrollment estimates: Fall 2023. https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/

63.

Ortagus

J. C.

Baker

Rosinger

K. O.

Kelchen

Morales

Peters

Lingo

(2024). The revenue implications of community colleges’ reliance on local funding. AERA Open, 10(1), 1–16. DOI:/10.1177/23328584241258487

64.

Ortagus

(2019). The price of mission complexity: A national study of the impact of community college baccalaureate adoption on tuition and fees. Educational Researcher, 48(8), 504–520.

65.

Ortagus

(2020). A national study of the financial implications of community college baccalaureate adoption. The Journal of Higher Education, 91(7), 1053–1086.

66.

Romano

R. M.

(2012). Looking behind community college budgets for future policy considerations. Community College Review, 40(2), 165–189.

67.

Romano

R. M.

Kirshstein

R. J.

D’Amico

Hom

Van Noy

(2019). Adjusting college costs for noncredit enrollments: An issue for data geeks or policy makers? Community College Review, 47(2), 159–177.

68.

Romano

R. M.

Palmer

J. C.

(2016). Financing community colleges: Where we are, where we are going. Rowman & Littlefield.

69.

Romano

R. M.

Palmer

J. C.

(2023). Funding adequacy and the community college. In Smith

D. A.

Cain

C. M.

Friedel

J. N.

(Eds.), Free college: Budgets, mission, & the future. New Directions for Community Colleges, 203, pp. 165–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20595

70.

Rosinger

Kelchen

Baker

Ortagus

Lingo

(2022). State higher education funding during COVID-19: Lessons from prior recessions and implications for equity. AERA Open, 8(1), 1–19.

71.

Schulze-Cleven

Reitz

Maesse

Angermuller

(2017). The new political economy of higher education: Between distributional conflicts and discursive stratification. Higher Education, 73, 795–812. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-017-0114-4

72.

Serna

G. R.

Cohen

J. M.

(2017). Fiscal structure and public college and university credit ratings: An exploratory analysis. Planning for Higher Education Journal, 45(3), 81–93.

73.

State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. (2023). SHEF: State higher education finance report FY 2022. https://shef.sheeo.org/report/

74.

Tahey

Salluzzo

Prager

Mezzina

Cowen

(2016). Update to the 7th edition of strategic financial analysis for higher education. KPMG, Prager, Sealy, & Co. and Attain.

75.

Tandberg

D. A.

(2018). Monitoring and assessing the financial health and risk of colleges and universities: Recommendations for SHEEO agencies. State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. https://sheeo.org/white-paper-monitoring-and-assessing-the-financial-health-and-risk-of-colleges-and-universities/

76.

Ward

J. D.

Pisacreta

E. D.

Wintraut

Kurzweil

(2020). Reimagining state higher education funding. Ithaka S+R Issue Brief.

77.

Wekullo

Musoba

G. D.

(2020). The relationship between alternative strategies of funding and institutional financial health for public research universities. Higher Education Politics & Economics, 6(1), 81–103.

78.

Wright-Kim

(2022a). An update on the impacts of the community college baccalaureate. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2022(197), 59–70.

79.

Wright-Kim

(2022b). The dynamic financial implications of the community college baccalaureate: An institution-level analysis. AERA Open, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221126473

80.

Wright-Kim

(2023). The impact of offering baccalaureate degrees on institutional enrollment in community colleges. Community College Review, 51(1), 3–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221125500

81.

Wright-Kim

(2024). Spending and baccalaureate-granting community colleges: A focus on institutional aid. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 48(1), 22–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2023.2201925

82.

Zeidenberg

(2008). Community colleges under stress. Issues in Science and Technology, 24(4), 53–58.

Financial Health at Baccalaureate-Granting Community Colleges in the United States: A Descriptive Exploration

Abstract

Background:

Research Question:

Research Design:

Conclusions:

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References