RECENTLY COMPLETED DISSERTATIONS ON COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES

The recession prompted reflection on how resource allocation decisions contribute to the performance of community colleges in the United States. Private benchmarking initiatives, most notably those established by the National Higher Education Benchmarking Institute, can only partially begin to address this question. Empirical and financial barriers may limit the utility of private benchmarking initiatives, and this article argues that renewed interest in public benchmarking initiatives is needed in order to overcome these difficulties and advance the study of how resource allocation decisions contribute to the performance of community colleges. Data is provided to illustrate how the Integrated Postsecondary Data System can be used to compare key financial parameters of two-year public postsecondary institutions.