1 Data-Driven Strategic Enrollment Management Session 1: Enrollment Management Research 101 Kathy Kurz, Vice President Scannell & Kurz, Inc. June 12, 2007 www.scannellkurz.com www.scannellkurz.com 2 Agenda Introduction Strategic Planning Model – where/how does enrollment management research fit in? Conclusion
34
Embed
Data-Driven Strategic Enrollment Management Committees... · the sources of data available to understand and manage enrollments. 4 What is Enrollment Management? Enrollment management
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
Data-Driven StrategicEnrollment Management
Session 1: Enrollment Management Research 101
Kathy Kurz, Vice PresidentScannell & Kurz, Inc.
June 12, 2007www.scannellkurz.com
www.scannellkurz.com 2
Agenda
IntroductionStrategic Planning Model –where/how does enrollment management research fit in?Conclusion
2
www.scannellkurz.com 3
Goal of the Session
To provide an understanding of the sources of data available to understand and manage enrollments.
www.scannellkurz.com 4
What is Enrollment Management?
Enrollment management is a process, one that brings together often disparate functions having to do with recruiting, funding, tracking, retaining, and replacing students as they move toward, within, and away from our institutions.
(Source: Boston College, Bridge Magazine, Fall 1976)
3
www.scannellkurz.com 5
What is Strategic Enrollment Management?
It begins with an understanding of external and internal trends, in order to anticipate and respond to changes in a manner that will create a sustainable market advantage.
www.scannellkurz.com 6
Why is Research Important to Strategic Enrollment Management?
Keeps us focused on meeting institutional mission and goalsProvides information to most effectively deploy limited resourcesEducates us on who to recruit and howEmpowers us to maintain a steady financial futurePrepares us to respond to changing market conditions and student retention challenges
4
Environment
Forecast
Problems &Constraints
Goals ProgramPlanning
Facilities&
Funding
Planning
Implementation
Strategic Planning Model
Organization&
Staffing
CurrentPosition
Evaluation
Source: Frank B. Campanella, Professor of Finance, Boston College
Source: The College Board: Enrollment Planning Service, Executive Summary
Competitor Volume OvlpYour Univ. 21640
1 A. Univ. 50640 97442 B. Univ. 34708 92023 C. Univ. 18045 52244 D. Univ. 19849 41445 E. Univ. 16291 39256 F. Univ. 12797 32087 G. Univ. 14596 24548 H. Univ. 15324 22399 I. Univ. 9937 2134
10 J. Univ. 8209 2054
8
www.scannellkurz.com 15Source: ACT
ACT Enrollment Information Service – Class Profile
Number of ACT Score Reports Sent to Your Institution & to Competing Institutions
Institution Name City ST
Total Score Rpts
Choice 1
X University AB 7068 1747
M State University AB 2883 1081W State University AB 2136 574Central University AB 2085 551O University AB 2000 500Western University AB 1568 277
Federal PoliciesChanges in federal financial aid programs (e.g., Academic Competitiveness Grant, SMART, etc.)Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA)
State PoliciesState financial aid programsPolicies of neighboring states
www.scannellkurz.com 26
14
www.scannellkurz.com 27
Economy
Projected changes in Median Household IncomeUnemployment LevelsLabor Market Trends by Sector
All available by geographic region
www.scannellkurz.com 28
US Census Bureau
2003-04 2004-05Median Income
Median Income
United States $45,893 $46,071Alabama $38,695 $37,502Alaska $55,957 $56,398
State
Source: www.census.gov
15
www.scannellkurz.com 29
Type of College Attended Varies by Income Level
Public 4-YrPublic 2-Yr Private 4-Yr
Source: College Board, Trends in Higher Education Series 2005
Characteristics of your customer baseGenderEthnicitySocioeconomicGeographicAcademic QualityNumber of Area High School Graduates. . . and other characteristics important to the mission of the school
17
www.scannellkurz.com 33
Source: www.collegeboard.com
www.scannellkurz.com 34
WICHE – Knocking at the College Door, December 2003
NY Public High School Graduates By Median Family Income
www.scannellkurz.com 36
Source: www.higheredinfo.org
19
www.scannellkurz.com 37
Environment in Summary
There is plenty of data. The keys to transforming data into knowledge are:
Identifying the right indicators for your institutionProperly organizing and summarizing themDistributing them to decision makers
Environment
Forecast
Problems &Constraints
Goals ProgramPlanning
Facilities&
Funding
Planning
Implementation
Strategic Planning Model
Organization&
Staffing
CurrentPosition
Evaluation
Source: Frank B. Campanella, Professor of Finance, Boston College
20
www.scannellkurz.com 39
Strategic Planning Model –Current Position
Areas of Interest to Enrollment Managers
Trends in inquiries, applicants, admits, and enrollees by subpopulationStudent attitudes and interestsTrends in quality profile, financial aid expenditures, diversity, and other class attributesCohort retention trends by subpopulation
www.scannellkurz.com 40
Trends in Inquiries, Applicants, Admits, and Enrollees by Subpopulation
Student system dataHistorical yield rates (e.g., app rate, admit rate, enroll rate) by various student characteristics/subpopulations
Admitted Student Questionnaire (ASQ)Market research (internal)
Surveys of prospective students
21
www.scannellkurz.com 41
Student Attitudes and Interests
Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) – Freshman SurveyNational Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI)Focus Groups
www.scannellkurz.com 42
Trends in Quality Profile, Financial Aid Expenditures, Diversity, and Other Class Attributes
Student System DataSAT/ACTRank/HS GPADiscount ratesEthnic/geographic/socio-economic diversity
22
www.scannellkurz.com 43
Cohort Retention Trends by Subpopulation
Student System DataSophomore retention rates of new students (i.e., first-time at your college) by student characteristics
Your First College Year (YFCY) Survey from the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI)
www.scannellkurz.com 44
Challenges with Internal Data
Data not captured or not keptOld legacy system – difficult to extract dataLack of executive interest or understanding of the importance of dataNo system “power user” in the enrollment management unitFiles from prior years were erasedData integrityLow response rates on surveyFiles not merged
23
www.scannellkurz.com 45
Data Not Captured in System
Solution:Know specifically the data you want to capture from which sourcesBegin discussion on campus with appropriate people to collect specific data routinely
www.scannellkurz.com 46
Old Legacy System – Difficult to Extract Data
Solution:Upgrade your systemFind someone on campus who has expertise to extract dataCreate a data warehouse
24
www.scannellkurz.com 47
Lack of Executive Interest or Understanding of the Importance of Data
Solution:Need to make the case for data-driven decision making and resource allocation to the senior teamConduct a cost-benefit analysis exercise to display the power of data
www.scannellkurz.com 48
No System “Power User” in the Enrollment Management Unit
Solution:Provide training for staff member(s) to become a power userMay need to make use of available resources in other departments like IT, Math/Statistics, or Psychology
25
www.scannellkurz.com 49
Files from Prior Years Were Erased
Solution:Find out if any “point in time” files (a.k.a., census files) are retrievable from other officesOtherwise, set up a database to gather this data on an annual basis going forward
www.scannellkurz.com 50
Data Integrity
Solution:Beware of making biased assumptions!May need to wait until the next cycle to get good dataCorrect prior mistakes and create protocols to ensure proper and accurate data entry
26
www.scannellkurz.com 51
Low Response Rates on Surveys
Solution:Proceed with caution when drawing conclusionsConsider improving the survey instrument and research methodologyExperiment with different data collection methods (e.g., phone interview vs. mail vs. Web surveys)Outsource to a data collection agency
www.scannellkurz.com 52
Files Not Merged
Solution:Bring together Admissions, Financial Aid, Registration and Records, and IT to develop a plan for merging each others’dataOnce these files are merged, a whole new world of data analysis is possible!
27
www.scannellkurz.com 53
Data Analysis Continuum
No DataStrategic UseOf Data
Historical DataCaptured &Retained ButFiles Not Merged
Data FilesMerged ButStrategic QuestionsNot Asked
AggregateData Analysis Segmented
Data Analysis
(group data)
RegressionAnalysis
(individual data)
Modeling& Simulations
Environment
Forecast
Problems &Constraints
Goals ProgramPlanning
Facilities&
Funding
Planning
Implementation
Strategic Planning Model
Organization&
Staffing
CurrentPosition
Evaluation
Source: Frank B. Campanella, Professor of Finance, Boston College
28
www.scannellkurz.com 55
Problems/Constraints and Goals
Must be quantitative and based on environmental and internal trends.
www.scannellkurz.com 56
Problems/Constraints and Goals –Example
Problem: You are a Private college in the southeast with a 71% in-state enrollment. You would like to increase your out-of-state enrollment. But, contiguous states have expanded scholarship programs for their residents.
Program Planning – ExampleAnalyze Yield Rates for Applicants from Contiguous
States by SubpopulationNeed> $10k 15/30 (50%) 20/30 (67%)$5k-10k 5/30 (17%) 15/30 (50%) 10/30 (33%)$1-5k 2/30 ( 7%) 2/30 (7%) 10/30 (33 %)No Aid App 0/26 (0%)
No Grant $1 - $2k $2k-$4k $4k-$6k >$6k
www.scannellkurz.com 62
Program Planning – Example
Guarantee a $5,000 grant to all applicants from contiguous states.
32
Environment
Forecast
Problems &Constraints
Goals ProgramPlanning
Facilities&
Funding
Planning
Implementation
Strategic Planning Model
Organization&
Staffing
CurrentPosition
Evaluation
Source: Frank B. Campanella, Professor of Finance, Boston College
www.scannellkurz.com 64
Conclusion
Through effective use of data, enrollment managers can:
Anticipate environmental changes that could impact enrollment outcomes or that could give the institution a competitive advantageIdentify reasons for negative (or positive) trends in enrollment outcomesDevelop targeted intervention strategies to address the trendsEstimate the likely cost/benefits of those initiativesEvaluate the impact of new initiatives and adapt as needed
33
www.scannellkurz.com 65
Conclusion
The data are available to guide strategic enrollment management efforts – get started by:
Familiarizing yourself with those sources, both external and internalMaking sure admissions, financial aid, and registration’s data are merged for analysesCarving out resources for an enrollment management research position – or grow your own
www.scannellkurz.com 66
Conclusion
The remaining Web conferences in this series will focus in detail on data-driven Enrollment Management in:
Admissions (Session II)Financial Aid (Session III)Retention (Session IV)