Experienced members of ABACC were asked, “What do you wish you had known when you started working in Christian higher education?”

• More accounting and legal understanding
• Accurately forecasting the budget based on expected student enrollment
• Use, regulations, and policies regarding restricted and unrestricted funds
• Various ways college donations are classified, used, and reported
• Reporting of annual pledges
• Legal requirements involved in operating an educational non-profit
• Better understanding of the implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it affects the educational process
• Benchmarking, financial ratios, and financial analysis
• Benefits of comparing benchmarks to reference schools
• Understanding, integrating, and adhering to the various reporting and filing requirements for governmental reporting, accreditation reporting, association reporting, etc
• How to balance tuition pricing and tuition discounting to maximize net tuition revenue
• Tax laws, minister’s housing allowances
• Fund accounting and financial statements as they relate to private higher education
• Accrediting commissions and how they (really) operate
• The Department of Education and how they (really) operate
• Federal regulations and compliance issues

• How to be a more effective Christian administrator and leader in a Christian organization
• Limitations of partnering with the for-profit business sector
• How much longer it takes to make decisions in a “shared governance” model
• The long hours with a different pay scale from the for-profit world and how to level that field
• How to handle the stress of the position, compounded by a passion for the ministry and the work required
• How to not become identified by your title, but by your place before God
• Why and how Christian higher education is different from for-profit business
• The importance of praying for and with colleagues and staff
• The keen awareness that God has placed me in my position to serve others

• How best to convey information to the Board of Trustees, some of whom are numbers-oriented and some who aren’t
• Understanding the politics of the higher education community
• Understanding the faculty mindset and working with faculty committees
• Tracking down and integrating the primary resources for Christian higher education business officers
• Differences between administrative roles, opinions, attitudes, and mindsets, including the filters through which each administrator views the educational/institutional process
• How vastly important it is to have the president’s full confidence and support
• Importance of good relationships with other administrators
• Effectively communicating the budget, both “up” to the president and board, and “out” to faculty and staff
• Importance of quality business/finance recommendations and good communication, especially during difficult financial times
• How to allocate time between work, family, prayer, and worship
• To take advantage of ABACC’s mentoring program—it would have been a great resource for me
• How to optimize decision-making and efficiency in a committee-driven culture
• The breadth of topics that most business officers must be “up” on