Quantity and Quality: Equity Considerations for the Funding of Categorical Programs in Community Colleges

Categorical funding is often intended to support our most historically underserved students, while also addressing financial inequities. Extant research suggests, however, that these funding streams may be equitable in intention but not in practice. Situated in a multidimensional equity framework, this study leverages descriptive budget data, funding and regulation documentation, and interviews with categorical-affiliated staff across multiple institutions within the US’s largest community college system to examine funding (in)equities of categorical funding and their potential to address persistent inequities in student access and success within higher education. Our findings suggest that in addition to trade-offs in the funding formulas themselves, contextual factors via program regulations and institutional characteristics also ultimately influence the “equitable” resourcing of these potentially high-impact programs. This study contributes to literature on higher education finance and policy, including the often-overlooked mechanism of categorical funding, and offers implications for future policy and practice, as well as opportunities for future research.