Coming out of the CCBO Spring Board meeting, there were several themes that were discussed among the CCBO leadership. Some were challenges faced in the industry - such as the ever demanding need of increasing enrollment and retention - and others were opportunities. This year, CCBO will focus on the opportunities.
In today’s climate, community college leaders - particularly business officers - are seeing their portfolios of responsibility increasing. Long past are the days of the Chief Business Officer playing the CFO role hyper-focused on financial planning and budgeting. Now business officers are charged with overseeing everything from emergency planning, human resources, and IT to facilities, auxiliary services, and financial aid. Yet typically, many CBOs have a financial background, and not a background in facilities or IT or student services. It makes our members’ day to day on campus difficult, and it makes it challenging for CCBO - an organization that specifically has "business officer" in its title - to be an all-encompassing resource for the professionals overseeing such a myriad of operations.
At the same time the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), of which CCBO is an affiliated council, has recently restructured their Commissions, including creating the Commission on Institutional Infrastructure and Transformation. This Commission has been charged with "focusing on the transformation of the institution to improve student success, which includes administrative processes, infrastructure, technology and building human resource capacity". What I love about this restructure is that it aligns so much with the direction of the chief business officer role, and it also gives CCBO the opportunity to have a direct impact on AACC’s 21st century recommendations. The role of the Chief Business Officer has become the individual on community college campuses who transforms the campus environment by providing the administrative processes and resources (both physical and technological infrastructure, as well as human resources) needed to move the community college mission forward. CCBO has a great opportunity here to shift the perception of the business officer from the campus financial guru to the campus financial guru who is shaping the processes on campus to better support student access, retention, and success.
CCBO is embracing this shift in the traditional business officer role, focusing on the CBO’s holistic influence on student enrollment, retention, and success today. A few ways we are doing this include:
Shift in Association’s messaging - CCBO has worked with a branding agency to position the organization in a way that matches the shifting CBO role on campus. You will see some refreshed language on the website, in emails, and in marketing materials in the coming weeks.
Diverse and varied content at the Annual Conference - We are actively recruiting submissions in areas such as emergency planning, human resources, IT, facilities, auxiliary services, and financial aid, and also recruiting a wider range of professionals to attend the CCBO annual conference because both education and collaboration in these areas are key a community college’s success. Submit (or encourage a colleague to submit) a proposal by the deadline of April 30.
A voice in the industry - As an affiliated council of AACC, we will be participating in conversations around the infrastructure of the institution. This includes attending the AACC Annual Convention (visit us at the Council Hub if you’re there!), supporting the Commission on Institutional Infrastructure and Transformation, and continuing the dialogue with AACC on the future of community colleges, and the business officer role in supporting the future direction.
It’s an exciting, albeit challenging, time to be a chief business officer at a community college. CCBO has a unique opportunity to grow its breadth of education and network this year, and we look forward to navigating this journey with our members.
Wishing you all a great rest of your Spring semesters!