Outsourcing has evolved into a strategic imperative at a growing number of community colleges, especially as administrators rein in spending and streamline operations in the face of shrinking budgets. Across the country, more colleges are outsourcing a range of functions, including information technology (IT), course instruction, food service, maintenance, security, and business processes such as finance and marketing, among other areas. With the help of third-party service providers, proponents of the trend say colleges can improve services for students and faculty and, in some cases, offer benefits that might have been unavailable otherwise. In this article, the author discusses the benefits of outsourcing, as well as its share of risk for community colleges.