In response to legislative mandate, this report reviews the management initiatives taken by community colleges in Maryland over the last several years to contain and reduce costs; investigates the potential for the regionalization of Maryland's community colleges; and determines new initiatives that should be considered by individual colleges in response to potential tuition losses due to projected enrollment declines. After chapter 1 introduces the mandate and the subsequent steps taken by the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges, chapter 2 examines Maryland's funding structure, changes in the share of support for the community colleges provided by the state, and the current situation. Chapter 3 focuses on cost containment initiatives, reviews the higher education literature, initiatives taken by Maryland's community colleges, and systemwide changes. In chapter 4, the question of regionalization (i.e., establishment of a coordinated relationship among the goals, programs, and resources of all of the postsecondary components of a region) is addressed, focusing on three approaches: the establishment of regional community colleges, the use of branch campuses to provide services on a contractual basis to neighboring counties, and reciprocity between counties. Chapter 5 looks at future cost containment initiatives, discussing retrenchment policies, alternative sources of revenue, and cost reductions or avoidances. Finally, committee recommendations are presented in chapter 6. Appendices provide summaries of 68 cost containment actions taken by individual colleges, information on new and discontinued programs between 1979 and 1985, and references. (LAL)