Presidents Resources
Financial Resources for Presidents and other Financial Decision-makers
Questions and Answers
Dr. Michael Townsley, author of the respected work, The Small College Guide to Financial Health, is available to answer your questions regarding the financial health and strategies of your institution. Please use the form below to direct your questions to Dr. Townsley. He will respond to your questions promtly, in most cases within 24 hours.
Summary of The Small College Guide to Financial Health: Beating the Odds, by Michael K. Townsley, NACUBO, 2002:
This book details the financial essentials of small colleges' financial structure, performance measures, and strategic allocation decisions. Armed with the latest statistical research and trend studies, Dr. Townsley offers performance indices and benchmarking data you can use to ascertain your institution's financial health.
Presidents, Chairs, and CFOs recommend Dr. Townsley's book for colleges that are building a financial strategy, diagnosing their current condition, or integrating financial strategies into a larger strategy.
Praise from David W. Breneman, University of Virginia: "Today's small, private college faces great risk of educational and financial failure. Michael Townsley's book is a detailed guide for those who lead such colleges, and is must reading for presidents, administrators, and board members of private colleges. Readers will find many practical ideas and suggestions for action. This is not a book of theory, but of practice, and is a welcome addition to the literature on these important institutions."
How can I obtain a copy of this book? The Small College Guide to Financial Health is available from NACUBO
Additional resources for managing the financial health of your institution
Tools for Building Financially Strong and Vital Colleges This presentation discusses financial strategic principles, keys to financial strategy, debt management, self-diagnosis of financial condition, and sample financial goals.
Turnaround Strategies Presidents and others will find a concise discussion of the steps needed to build a strategic turnaround plan. The presentation covers diagnosis, goals, and steps to designing a turnaround strategy.
Cash Is King Finance in the short-term always boils down to cash. This paper was presented at the Presidents Conference for the Council of Independent Colleges in 2002.
Market Driven Strategies Financial strategy and market strategies go hand-in-hand. Presidents looking to understand the dynamic relationships between financial and marketing strategies will want to read this presentation.
Financial Toolbox Dr. Townsley has taken the ratios, planning sheets, and other financial planning documents from his book and put them together in a CD as a "Financial Toolbox". The CD will be available this Spring from NACUBO. It will be useful for Presidents to give to their CFOs to diagnose the college's financial condition and to plan and prepare financial strategies. The CD will include worksheets that will permit the College to select appropriate financial measurements. This toolbox is available through NACUBO.
Diagnostics and Strategy Strategic planning rests on understanding the condition of the college. Presidents can use this information to begin diagnostic analysis of finances, marketing, academics, and other areas of the institution.
CFI Worksheet Chief Financial Officers can use this worksheet to compute a Composite Financial Index. This generates an index score that suggests relative financial condition. KPMG and Prager, McCarthy, and Sealy developed the Index to estimate the financial health of private colleges.
CFI Scoring Guide The scoring guide suggests the implications for ranges of CFI scores.
The following case studies illustrate various factors that influence financial condition and how some colleges have responded to financial stress.