Liquidating Mutual Funds in order to pay college tuition

I have been using the dollar cost averaging method of buying mutual fund shares to save for my son's college education.He has been accepted and plans to attend Fordham University in September. My question-is there a comparable method for selling mutual funds systematically to take advantage of the same benefit you get when you dollar cost average to buy fund shares? I keep thinking it should be obvious to me but so far it hasn't occurred to me. Any ideas?
Thanks.

Ro

First, congratulations on your son getting accepted to Fordham. It's a good school.

I think the critical issue in liquidating the funds will prove to be tax-efficiency. Tax-efficiency will mean the obvious (i.e., lower taxes) but also less income to affect financial aid, if that is an issue for you. On the presumption that you have not previously sold shares in the fund (or funds), you can determine and use the most tax-effective fashion to make withdrawals. You are going to want to review IRS Publication 564 (Mutual Fund Distributions).

This is assuming the fund shares are held in your name (not your son's) and that there is either only fund, or that the funds are comparable, so that you not concerned about taking money from a stock fund vs. a bond fund, say, and affecting your asset allocation strategy.

Hope this helps.

TJ