Expense Management Strategies Within Financially Successful Christian Universities

Abstract

This study identified the business strategies and tactics employed by three financially successful Christian institutions of higher education to drive a positive net income. In addition, this study explored the linkages between operational decisions and the institutions' Christian mission. The three institutions in this study declared an uncompromising mission to educate students from a Christian worldview. The planning processes were consistently integrated into the routine structures and cycles, with the institutions' Christian identity being the lens through which planning was filtered. The investigated institutions also employed a business framework in their operations, intentionally living within their means by managing the effectiveness and efficiencies of the institution and by avoiding excessive debt. It was evident that strategic planning processes that included strong tactical planning and follow-through, combined with conservative fiscal management, were critical to the success of these private, not-for-profit Christian institutions. These institutions demonstrated that good fiscal business decisions, when made through the lens of the Christian mission or ethos, are evidence of good stewardship.