Allocating Resources to Enhance Equitable Student Outcomes at Alamo Colleges District
Impact at a Glance
- Shifted to an equity-driven budgeting model
- Reallocated resources to targeted case management advising
- Used disaggregated data to identify and close equity gaps
- Invested $2M to expand support for highest-need students
- Built a data-informed cycle to continuously refine funding decisions
The Problem
Alamo Colleges District (ACD), a five-college system serving approximately 72,000 students, has long prioritized student success.
- 81% part-time students
- 67% Hispanic students
- 60% women
- 70% receiving financial aid
Its budgeting process already aligned to districtwide student performance targets, but leaders saw a gap between broad performance goals and more precise equity-focused resource decisions.
- Whether allocation practices unintentionally reinforced inequities
- How funding decisions could better support historically underserved students
- How to apply an explicit equity lens to resource allocation
- How to strengthen data-informed budget decision-making
The district selected the Case Management Advising Program (AlamoADVISE) as the first place to test a more intentional equity-centered funding approach.
The Action
To address these questions, ACD implemented the NACUBO Budget Equity Blueprint.
- Applied an equity lens to the budget allocation process
- Reviewed planning and funding formulas
- Used disaggregated data to examine advising touchpoints
- Engaged stakeholders in deeper conversations about funding impact
- Re-evaluated how resources were distributed across student populations
The Blueprint helped leaders recognize that funding levels may need to differ across services and student segments to close equity gaps.
“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
Related Use Cases
A Strategic and Collaborative Approach Towards Educational Equity
Addressing Disparities in Student Retention and Graduation Rates Through Data Infrastructure and Analytics
