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For institutions that rely heavily on their geographic area to build their student class each year, a declining prospect pool is often less important than a falling market share. Maintaining or growing the portion of students you attract in your market is a sign of competitive health, even in cases where the overall pool is shrinking. It signals that opportunities for recruiting success may be found in other locations within your market that align well ...
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History professor Steven Mintz reminds us in a recent post that true innovations are those that add real value. He submits the example of applying analytics in higher education, which provides "actionable data to guide decision making, expose problems, and prompt interventions when students are off-track and at risk of failure." Analytics, when used appropriately, is at its core a way to learn more about yourself and your organization. It is no stretch to state ...
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As part of the traditional recruiting process, college admissions professionals may visit dozens or even hundreds of high schools on behalf of their institution. This fall there are roadblocks to that effort. School districts across the nation have announced they are closed to outside visitors, and many have shut campus altogether with plans for distance learning to begin the year. Standard methods for evaluating and scoring students have also been hampered by the pandemic restrictions ...
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Gerald Stanley - CEO The information age is enlightening… well not exactly. For those of us who see the dirty little secrets of data, we know that too often data is not really enlightening at all, but a rather monstrous leviathan that’s just sitting there waiting to devour anyone who sets foot in its labyrinth.  Alright, enough with the middle earth references. We frequently run into situations as an organization where the data that we ...
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Former Centenary University President David P. Haney reminds us that it is not always easy for educational institutions to identify problems. "First, we often jump to potential solutions before defining the key issue. For example, 'Our enrollment is too low' does not state a problem. Increasing enrollment is a solution to different potential problems, such as unused capacity or most commonly an operational deficit. Increasing enrollment may be a solution to a deficit, but it ...
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