Strengthening Decision-Making and Resource Prioritization Practices at Great Falls College

Impact at a Glance

Strengthened data-informed resource prioritization
Adapted budget tools to support a lean administrative team
Used peer data to add context to planning and decision-making
Built a framework for sustaining and scaling proven programs
Advanced plans for data literacy and professional development

The Challenge

Great Falls College Montana State University is a public community college serving approximately 1,400 students across rural North Central Montana. With a small administrative team and significant regional workforce and access challenges, the college must carefully prioritize its limited resources to meet student and community needs.

The college wanted to strengthen how it used data and evidence to:

Help program managers assess outcomes and resource needs
Determine which initiatives should receive additional investment
Identify successful programs that could be sustained or scaled
Determine when investments should be maintained, reduced, or phased out
Redirect resources toward higher-priority initiatives

The goal was to create a more consistent and practical approach to planning, budgeting, and resource prioritization.

The Action

Great Falls College combined resources from three NACUBO toolkits—IPEDS Peer Benchmarking Dashboards, Budget Builder, and Financial Impact Analysis—adapting individual components to fit its needs and capacity.

The college:

Used IPEDS peer data to provide context for decision-making
Used the dashboards to encourage conversations about data literacy and data use
Customized Budget Builder templates to streamline budget request submissions
Adapted resources to efficiently capture information about program and resource needs
Used Financial Impact Analysis dashboards as a model for developing future institutional dashboards

Rather than implementing each toolkit in its entirety, the college took a flexible approach, selecting and modifying resources that could immediately strengthen its existing practices.

The Results

Immediate Impact

Created more efficient tools for budget request submissions
Improved access to peer data for planning and decision-making
Introduced models for connecting data with resource allocation decisions
Identified approaches for developing institution-specific dashboards

Process Improvements

Strengthened the use of data in planning and budget development
Created a more consistent approach to evaluating resource needs
Established a framework for sustaining and scaling proven programs
Demonstrated how toolkit resources could be adapted to the capacity of a small, rural institution

Ongoing Momentum

Expand professional development focused on data and dashboard use
Use data to support student outcomes, accreditation, and resource priorities
Explore the learning management system to deliver training to remote faculty and programs
Continue using Student Success Hub resources to support ongoing process improvements

“As the CBO, I see all these pieces that come together, but I also see how those pieces aren't always put to best use because of changes in funding, evolving workforce development needs, and the challenges we have because we are so small. Our students have so many barriers to accessing our programs. Our job is to serve the people of the state of Montana. ...”
Carmen RobertsExecutive Director of Operations