Assessing Financial Health in Community Colleges

In this age of educational accountability, there is an increasing emphasis on assessment and institutional effectiveness, not only in the academic arena but also in other aspects of community college operation, such as fiscal health and stability, revenue generation, resource allocation, facilities, workforce development, and community enrichment services. This chapter describes the challenge of effectively assessing community college financial services and budgets as well as internal and external standards and benchmarks developed to measure institutional fiscal health and the allocation of resources (e.g., reserve fund amounts, deferred maintenance, and bond ratings).