Aligning Budgets for Student Success

A budget model that places a laser focus on students drives decisions that can result in improved retention rates, higher graduation rates, and overall better student outcomes. 

In our previous post, we shared a perspective on higher education budgeting based on peer-reviewed research and insights from former Chief Financial Officers, specifically focusing on the pressures on both sides of the pandemic. One theme was revisiting the metrics used in budgeting to reflect the goal of improved student success and transforming the campus culture to support those metrics. 

This post's purpose is to connect those concepts to the importance of budgeting alignment with intent. A focus on aligning accreditation requirements to campus initiatives designed to support student success starts during the budgeting process. 

Seven accreditation bodies in the US focus on geographic regions, and 52 national accreditation agencies grant accreditation to specific programs. Let’s focus on The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for this discussion. 

One of SACSCOC’s core requirements is 2.11.1, Financial Resources and Stability. The essence of this core requirement is fulfilled through the institution’s ability to show how the mission is supported by sound financial processes while keeping the school fiscally sound. While schools have artifacts meant to populate required reports that satisfy auditing requirements, there remains a gap between the approved budget and how funded initiatives align with accreditation standards and other campus metrics that support student success. 

The ability to show fiscal stability can present challenges to any accredited school, but Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are at a greater disadvantage. Because a majority of HBCUs strive to educate students that are in lower income brackets, Woodson contributes to his chapter of the 2022 book Imagining the Future: Historically Black Colleges and Universities—A Matter of Survival, that supporting that mission requires budgeting approaches that either lead to higher student debt or gaps in revenue. These mixed results led HBCUs to think differently about their metrics and approach to ensure the stability of their institutions to improve focus on funding programs to graduate adults who can survive in a volatile economy. 

Budgeting processes can significantly impact student success across any size or type of higher education institution. Initiatives proposed by planning units to yield student success can flourish or wither because of a variety of items: fit for purpose, staff turnover, execution of objectives, or implementation and adoption of the program. The greater influence is sufficient financial allocation to support these initiatives. 

Fiscal processes put in place by higher education leadership play a crucial role in shaping the resources available for student support and academic programs. 

By carefully selecting and implementing budget models that only fund initiatives that align with accreditation requirements, institutional goals, student needs, or other campus metrics creates an environment that fosters student success. Referencing our previous article, there is significant pay off for all stakeholders if customer service is a key focus for every staff, administrator, executive and faculty member. Especially in supporting initiatives that underpin student success.  

References 

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (2019, June 25). SACS-COC Accrediting Standards. Retrieved May 21, 2024, from https://sacscoc.org/accrediting-standards/  

Smith, D. O. (2021). Overview of University Finances: Accounting and Budgeting Principles for Higher Education [Article]. Journal of Research Administration, 52(2), 12-14.  

Woodson, R. W. (2022). FINANCIAL ISSUES FOR HBCUS IN 2020 AND BEYOND. Imagining the Future: Historically Black Colleges and Universities-A Matter of Survival, 105.