For many industries, the economic crunch of the past few years has brought about an increased focus on controlling expenses, gaining process efficiencies and finding a competitive advantage in an overcrowded market. While community colleges are not immune to these challenges, they are limited in how they are able to respond. Unlike other areas of the economy, massive layoffs, consolidating operations, or restructuring through mergers and acquisitions are not viable options for colleges. Instead, they must focus on improving business processes in order to successfully compete for the students and funding that are necessary to maintain viability in the higher education marketplace. In this article, the author discusses factors that create three costly choke points throughout educational institutions that impact their ability to provide the high level of services that are required within the budget that is allocated: (1) Managing and storing student records, applications and other supporting documentation in a cost-effective and secure manner, (2) Efficiently routing paper and electronic documents through the application and financial aid approval processes; and (3) Providing a secure mechanism for internal and external parties to inquire about student records and grant status with minimal disruption. By focusing on any one of these areas, institutions can increase competitive advantage while at the same time improving service to students, faculty and external organizations and reducing operating costs.