That’s Not What We Meant to Do: Unintended Consequences of Basing Higher Education Finance Models on Tradition Rather than on the Needs of Today’s Students When Policy Meets Practice

Host Paul Fain is joined by community college presidents Tonjua Williams of St. Petersburg College and Randall VanWagoner of Mohawk Valley Community College to discuss the urgency and need to transform traditional Higher Education funding models to better support community colleges and student-centered approaches. Both presidents share their experiences dealing with the disruption from the pandemic and discuss how modern and more flexible funding structures could help them better serve their students. Tonjua and Randy also provide institutional and state policy best practices that can be used by other institutions and policymakers across the country. The episode concludes with a sense-making segment with JFF’s David Altstadt and Taylor Maag. Read JFF’s blog post for a recap of key takeaways and policy and programmatic resources.