TXCommunity College

Alamo Colleges District

Strengthening Analysis, Refining Budgeting Processes, and Centering Students

Equity-Focused PlanningResource Allocation

About Alamo Colleges District

The Alamo Colleges District (ACD) is a network of five community colleges serving the Greater San Antonio metropolitan area. District institutions have a combined enrollment of approximately 72,000 students, who take advantage of the district's 350 degree and certificate programs. Annually, over 10,000 degrees are awarded by district colleges. Across the district, 81% of students enrolled attend part-time, 67% are of Hispanic descent, and 60% are women. Seventy percent of students who attend Alamo receive financial aid.

Improvement Project

Assessing Impact and Expanding Awareness of Student Outcomes to Support Resource Allocation Decision-Making

Toolkit Used

Budget Equity Blueprint

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Results

Alamo Colleges District used the Budget Equity Blueprint to apply an equity lens to its strategic budget process. Applying an equity lens led to a shift in resources to prioritize support for the Case Management Advising Program, a districtwide initiative that offers customized support to meet the needs of students.

District-level financial leaders reviewed the planning and budgeting processes to ensure a more substantial, data-informed alignment with ACD's Aspen and Achieving the Dream initiatives. This work advanced budget allocation processes, strengthening the focus on student outcomes for segments of students that have been historically underserved or marginalized.

The Full Story

Alamo Colleges District's budget process has been structured to allocate resources based on overall student data targets, purposefully funding targeted strategies to benefit all students. ACD's commitment to funding programs that demonstrate performance excellence and strong student outcomes has resulted in national recognition and strong outcomes for students. ACD's chief business officer (CBO) was interested in leveraging the Budget Equity Blueprint, a tool designed to help institutions critically examine how budget practices may contribute to existing, persisting inequalities built into the budgeting process. By responding to the questions with curiosity and gathering perceptions from others, the CBO recognized the potential of an equity-informed approach to resource allocation to improve student outcomes significantly. After applying the tool, the CBO elected to use disaggregated data to strategically allocate funds specific to advising touch points and activities, with the goal of building capacity for more equitable student outcomes. It was decided collectively to allocate an additional $2M to fund a new advising approach, employing targeted strategies for sub-sets of students in which the highest-skilled certified advisors would serve.

“This project helped us take an award-winning initiative to the next level and helped us to better understand how to allocate funding to serve all of our students while closing equity gaps so they can all thrive.”
Dr. Diane SnyderFormer Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration