Higher Education Market Leadership Report

2014market leadership report

Research Trends of 2014, Emerging Themes for 2015, and Innovations in the Field of Higher Education

Hanover Research I Higher Education Market Leadership Report

Welcome to the second edition of the Higher Education Market Leadership Report, Hanover Researchs (Hanovers) annual review of the topics and issues that shaped our work over the last twelve months, as well as those we expect to address throughout the year ahead.

Within this report, you will learn how peer higher education institutions are making data-driven decisions to address the challenges faced by college and university administrators in a rapidly changing field. Using data from nearly a thousand custom research initiatives supported by Hanover in 2014, we highlight the most common areas of focus for our work, which are indicative of the top concerns for Hanovers higher education partners. We also outline ways in which institutions can use research to prepare for the U.S. Department of Educations College Rating System; share one partners framework for exploring new online program opportunities; highlight a few of the awards that comprise the more than $13 million in grant funding we helped our partners win in 2014; and present our 2015 calendar of major grants competitions and their key action dates. Throughout our report, case study profiles demonstrate how innovative institutions have successfully translated Hanovers research insights into action.

Finally, we highlight some of our proudest accomplishments as well as the innovations and investments we believe are making the service better for all of our partners, such as the expansion of our specialist research teams and the launch of our new

Business Analytics Center, which provides custom research support tailored to the needs of university business and finance executives. We also discuss the development of new tools like our online student enrollment data map and our new data dashboards, which allow partners to interact with customized predictive models developed from their student-level data.

On behalf of Hanovers Higher Education Team, we hope that you find this report valuable and insightful. We continuously strive to better serve the higher education community, and welcome your feedback on the research support that would be of interest to you and your institution.

Regards,

Cam Wall Vice President, ContentHanover Research

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researchHow are peer higher

education institutions

making data-driven decisions

to address their challenges?

Hanover Research I Higher Education Market Leadership Report 2

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Research Trends of 2014

Methodological Developments

Introducing the Business Analytics Center

Emerging Research Themes for 2015

Research to Prepare for the College Rating System

Framework to Inform Growth and Expansion

Case Study on Improving Retention

Case Study on Assessing Economic Impact

Grant Trends of 2014

Funding Announcements and Grant Strategies

Case Study on Faculty Grant Development

Upcoming Grant Competitions

Business Investments

Higher Education Influencers

Resources and Acknowledgments

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trends of 2014

we know higher education

research

Our partners are a diverse, global collection of higher education institutions that span 45 states and the District of Columbia and six countries internationally. The research we complete on behalf of these partners directly supports higher education administrators high-priority initiatives.

New Program Viability and Demand

Identifying Program OpportunitiesSWOT and Positioning Analysis

Adult Education

Brand Awareness and Perception

Enrollment Trends and Projections

Matriculating and Non-Matriculating Students

Career Preparation

Academic Student Support

Online Programming Support

Learning Assessment

Post-Graduation Outcomes

Demographic Analysis

Tuition Cost Sensitivity

Bu

dge

ting S

trategy

Op

eration

s Sup

po

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Progress Monitoring

AB 86

Marketing and Recruitment Strategy

Lead and Marketing Channel

Tuition Benchmarking

Vendor Selection

Service Development and Evaluation

Brand Performance and Strategy

Satisfaction

and

En

ga

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me

nt

Faculty Workload

Tech Transfer

Growth PlanningProfessional Development

Academic Calendar

Competency-Based Education

MOOCs

Flexible Program Formats

Summer ProgrammingMobile Learning

New Product Markets

Alternative R

evenue Generation

Developmental Education

Degree Completion Programs

ELL StudentsAdult Students Transfer Students

Early Warning

International Students

Inquiring StudentsFinancial Aid Management

Marketing Operations

Message Testing

Enrollment Management

Student Learning Outcomes Planning

Disability Services

Gatekeeper Courses

Hispanic Students

Veterans

Achievement Gap

Libra

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erv

ices

Fa

culty

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taff M

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Po

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Non-Returning Student Feedback

Strategic Plan

nin

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Com

pensation and Benefi

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Intern

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al Op

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Admissions Policies

Continuing Education

Labor Market Outlook

Organizational Structure

Student Retention

Faculty Research

top themes from research requests in 2014

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trends of 2014

research

In analyzing the reports Hanover completed in 2014, we identified five major priority areas. These broad categories are presented below, as are the topics that comprise each priority area and their related request percentages.

2014 research priorities

*Some projects addressed several of these themes simultaneously, which is why the sum of the request percentages exceeds 100.

percentage of total research requests*

56%

19%16% 15%

7%

Academic Program Management

Recruiting and Marketing Strategy Resource

ManagementInstitutional Effectiveness

Community and Alumni Engagement

78% - New Program Development

13% - Program Review

10% - Programs for Special Populations

6% - Alternative Program Formats

3% - Curriculum

32% - Enrollment Management

20% - Marketing Effectiveness

19% - Brand Performance

14% - Tuition Management

7% - New Campus Feasibility

43% - Operational Support

21% - Faculty and Staff Management

12% - Finance

11% - Planning

10% - Faculty Research

6% - Peer List Development

44% - Student Success Tracking

38% - Student Support

20% - Student Satisfaction and Engagement

9% - Support for Special Populations

33% - Alumni Engagement

33% - Community Brand Awareness and Perception

16% - Local and Regional Partnerships

13% - Local and Regional Employer Needs

7% - Economic Impact Assessment

trending topics within each priority area


trends of 2014

research

A growing area of interest, projects focused specifically on informing partner institutions Recruiting and Marketing Strategy accounted for nearly 20 percent of Hanovers custom research requests.

Specific research topics of interest related to Recruiting and Marketing Strategy included:

Gauging institutional brand strength among community members and prospective students;

Conducting surveys and data analyses focused on tuition price elasticity among prospective students; and

Using data modeling to predict matriculation within certain student populations based on variables such as application date, high school GPA, and the amount of aid offered to students.

Hanovers work in support of institutional marketing strategies specifically in the areas of brand perception and brand awareness represents a growing area of focus, and one that we are committed to further enhancing in 2015. Last year, Hanover completed more brand perception work than ever before, which is an exciting development.

Our partners recognize the importance of well-developed, targeted marketing plans. Hanover can play an important role in helping institutions understand the best ways to reach prospective students and identify the channels most likely to lead to enrollment. This work ranges from survey and funnel analyses to qualitative reviews of competitor market positioning.

Allyson Grennille Managing Content Director of Hanovers Higher Education Practices

expert insight

spotlight on recruiting and marketing strategy

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read the full breakdown of our 2014 higher education research trends here

Hanover partners have access to our Education Library, a resource of over 2,100 syndicated reports including these top downloaded reports of 2014 completed at the request of partners. Learn more about our library benefits .

1. Best Practices in Graduate Student Recruitment2. 21st Century Strategies for Tracking Graduate Outcomes3. Tuition and Financial Aid Incentives for Improving Graduation Rates4. Predictive Analytics in Higher Education5. Best Practices in One-Stop Shops for Student Services

want more trending research?


themes for 2015

emerging research

We believe that several of the projects Hanover completed last year indicate emerging trends that will become more prominent in 2015.

In 2014, we addressed these evolving areas of interest in the following ways.

Ensuring Post-Graduation Success

Defining credentials that could be awarded through various certificate programs;

Reviewing best practices in career services organizational structures; and

Examining how universities can best support career pathways for graduates of broad undergraduate degree programs.

Calculating Student Value

Conducting environmental scans and program pricing and tuition sensitivity analyses to model the enrollment effects of tuition reductions; and

Developing and analyzing student surveys to understand potential responses to tuition and financial aid changes within an institutions summer programs.

Developing Online Programs

Evaluating market saturation and demand factors for online expansion;

Benchmarking online program faculty compensation, marketing budgets for online programs, and online degree admission requirements; and

Gauging student satisfaction with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and evaluating general trends in online course delivery.

Identifying Factors of Student Success

Identifying academic and non-academic factors that most accurately predict persistence and graduation by analyzing student variables such as high school GPA, demographics, and first-year academic performance; and

Linking institutions National Survey of Student Engagement data with educational outcomes, such as persistence and GPA, to provide a more detailed and nuanced understanding of how student self-assessments of satisfaction and engagement correlate with important success indicators.

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Best Practices in Recruiting First-Generation College Students

Effective Academic Support Structures for Underrepresented Student Populations

Data-Driven Approaches to Closing Equity Gaps

Early College Programs for At-Risk Students

Tuition Optimization Analysis

Benchmarking Affordability among Peer and Aspirant Institutions

Predicting Optimal Financial Aid Awards

Models and Frameworks for Setting Student Fees

Tuition and Financial Aid Incentives for Improving Graduation Rates

Alumni Outcomes Tracking Survey

In-depth Alumni Interviews

Program Scan: Identifying Degree Fields with High Employability

Predictive Modeling: Understanding Factors that Impact Retention and Completion

Economic Impact Assessment

Students selecting colleges in the 2015 academic year will be the first to use the U.S. Department of Educations new College Rating System, which aims to help students identify colleges that provide good value aligned with three key principles articulated by the Obama administration: access, affordability, and outcomes. The first iteration of the ratings scheme, still in the broad development stages as of early 2015, is set to focus on two- and four-year institutions, excluding graduate institutions and non-degree granting educational entities.

The administrations most recent communications indicate that rated institutions will be grouped into three broad categories low performers, middle performers, and high performers with future planning efforts focused on refining institutional groupings, finalizing criteria weights, and developing metrics related to improvement over time. While commentary on the ratings system reflects broader debates on the value of college rankings in general the New York Times highlights the difficulty of representing the complexity of an individual college contribution . . . in a single number the Department emphasizes the multi-dimensional nature of the system, and has conducted various outreach initiatives to ensure that stakeholder feedback informs the final design.

college rating system

research to prepare for the

college rating system components and research solutionsResearch can inform institutional strategy in many of the areas likely to be at the core of the ratings system: increasing access, identifying optimal tuition price points, and tracking alumni outcomes. Hanovers experience conducting projects likes those outlined below makes us well-positioned to help institutions navigate the reality of the new ratings system.

access affordability outcomes

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The changing dynamics of local economies have impacted the way institutions look at growth. Further, our research trends from the past year confirm that institutions are increasing their investments in degree offerings that meet the needs of non-traditional student populations. In 2014, 16 percent of our project requests related to new program development addressed programming for special student populations or alternative program delivery formats via research on topics such as competency-based education models, institutional support for online program development, and alternative academic calendars.

While online programming can provide a cost-effective strategy for increasing student enrollments, the development and operation of any online program requires consideration of a number of factors.

Gain an objective perspective of the competitive landscape and peer benchmarks at the local, regional, and national levels.

Pursue viable programming as determined by increasing enrollment trends and labor market demand, coupled with low competitive saturation.

Develop a data-driven business case to present to internal stakeholders and campus leadership, accrediting and reporting bodies, and program advocates.

obtain a confirm articulate 360 market view demand program value

Hanovers iterative approach provides institutions with research support that spans the program development lifecycle, from conception to launch. The Strategy in Action snapshot on the next page illustrates how Hanovers program viability studies play a critical role in the academic expansion process of one institution, Saint Leo University.

growth and expansion

framework for informing

We encourage our partners to evaluate their existing academic programs and to assess the viability of new program offerings on regular intervals. This allows for efficient and effective management of an institutions overall academic portfolio. Our market assessment capabilities help our partners maintain a pulse on

innovative programming, marketing strategies, and growth projections across a broad spectrum of

academic programs. Although there are a number of other factors behind decisions to launch new programs

or to expand, maintain, or scale-back existing programs, Hanover equips partnering institutions with critical

information to proceed with these decision-making processes.

Amir Rasool Managing Content Director of Hanovers Higher Education Practices

expert insight

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Saint Leo University, a Catholic teaching institution, serves traditional and non-traditional students on the Saint Leo campus and in over 40 teaching locations and online. As Saint Leo explores opportunities to expand its academic curriculum, it faces a double challenge:

1. Identifying high-demand programs that would benefit potential students; and

2. Evaluating demand across the universitys geographic footprint.

Starting in 2007, Saint Leo University partnered with Hanover Research to address these challenges. Hanovers assessment of various markets has been integral to the universitys efforts to strengthen its portfolio of academic programs.

At least 13 of the over 30 programs Hanover has evaluated over the past seven years have become official degree offerings.



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Is your institution striving to establish a similar, research-driven approach to expansion? Learn how Hanover can help by contacting us at [email protected].

Qualif cation ReviewView Saint Leos full SmartGrowth expansionframework and planning worksheet here

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Since partnering with Hanover, Saint Leo honed its internal processes for identifying and pursuing new academic programming opportunities. In 2013, the institution launched SmartGrowth, a three-step process designed to inform the

universitys decision of whether to move forward with a new program or campus expansion. Hanovers services are built

into the third phase of the SmartGrowth process.

The lead advocate communicates the new program idea to key stakeholders and

The Office of Assessment and Institutional Research works with the program

Hanover Research helps validate the viability of a new offering. Once programs have

identifies individuals who can assist in validating the concept.

advocate to: (1) identify ideas that appear viable and that the university would be willing to support; (2) review preliminary market data; and (3) ensure appropriate organizational resource allocation to investigate the proposed program. The pre-qualification phase quickly screens out some ideas so that the university allocates resources toward evaluating the most promising programs.

passed through the pre-qualification review, administrators commission Hanover to: (1) investigate market demand, including employability of graduates; (2) conduct program-specific research, including an analysis of the competitive landscape and tuition rates; and (3) evaluate scalability, including assessment of demand in select geographic areas.

The research process addresses the following key questions in reference to the proposed program location(s):

What is the unmet labor market need for graduates with this degree? How does Saint Leo Universitys pricing compare to the competitions? Is the projected demand for the program sufficient to support development?

documentation

pre-qualification

qualification

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2.

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We want to be strategic when growing our university, states Jeffrey Anderson, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at Saint Leo University. Hanovers market viability and demand studies are a critical piece to the success of the SmartGrowth program, helping us to not only determine what opportunities to pursue, but also identify the ideas we may need to say no to.



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Clarion University of Pennsylvanias (Clarions) priority is to retain top student talent. To improve retention, Clarions institutional research team wanted to understand what factors enable students to succeed at the institution. Administrators commissioned Hanover to track Clarions newest freshman cohort, with an emphasis on minority and first- generation college populations.

Administrative leaders used Hanovers research to evaluate the institutions current and historical challenges to ensuring retention and encouraging graduation.

The data identified current gaps in services and guided the universitys creation of new retention-focused initiatives, including:

Developing programs focused specifically on the success and retention of new freshmen; Investing in data-based software and resources intended to advance student persistence efforts; and

Establishing new support services through the Student Minority Affairs Office geared towards the success and retention of minority students.

Hanover analyzed Clarions student data from 2006 through 2011 to assess which demographic, institutional, and academic variables were the most useful predictors of four-year and five-year graduation and second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-year retention. Hanover analysts developed multiple analytical models that assessed retention factors, predictors of conditional retention, and the likelihood of on-time graduation.

As a result of this

renewed focus

on supporting

at-risk student

populations,

Clarion saw a

5%

INCREASE IN

2013-2014

FRESHMAN AND

SOPHOMORE

RETENTION RATES

FROM TO APPROX.

70% 76%

Learn more about Clarions efforts to apply data to improve student retention by reading the full case study on our Higher Education Insights page here

Clarion has succeeded in raising our retention rates to totals significantly higher than the institution had experienced prior to using data-driven decision making. Using this retention data has helped us to develop interventions and identify high-impact programs that will not only help our students succeed, but also keep them here until graduation. - Ray Moneta, Director of Information Management and Institutional Research

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improving retention

case study on

the partnership need

the research snapshot

the institutional value

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Learn more about how FVSU articulated its economic impact to the state of Georgia and the nations HBCU network by reading the full case study here

Fort Valley State University (FVSU) is a land-grant university and one of Georgias three public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In fall 2013, the institution spearheaded an initiative to provide key stakeholders with vital information illustrating FVSUs economic impact on the local and state economies.

In order to evaluate and articulate FVSUs influence on local, regional, and statewide economic development efforts, administrators commissioned Hanover Research to perform an economic impact analysis of the universitys operations.

Hanovers economic impact methodology assessed institutional, student, and staff expenditures and their follow-on effects on other local residents earnings and expenditures. The report validated that in fiscal year (FY) 2013, FVSUs operating, capital, payroll, and student spending supported over 1,300 jobs and contributed nearly $139 million to the Georgia economy.

FVSU is sharing Hanovers findings in key stakeholder meetings, with HBCU peers, and throughout the University System of Georgia.

Further, the university added these economic impact data on its website, presented the findings at its Global Initiatives Council fall meeting, and shared the analysis with the Peach County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority to guide future marketing efforts for attracting new business to the area.

- Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, President

The Hanover report provides more powerful evidence that our university is not only an influential educational enterprise, but also a formidable economic enterprise.

*State impacts are inclusive of local impacts, which are inclusive of county impacts. Therefore a + sign is used to indicate the incremental impact associated with each level of analysis. The total impact represents the total state-level impact.

$138,799,447

1,329 JOBS

Financial Impact

TOTAL

TOTALEmployment Impact

$32,357,649

384 +634 +311

+$57,114,712 +$49,327,086Peach County

Local Region

State of Georgia

TOTAL IMPACT*

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the research snapshot


assessing economic impact

case study on

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As a separate offering from our traditional higher education research services, Hanovers Grant Development Center provides pre-proposal, proposal development, and capacity building support to institutions that partner with us when pursuing their grantseeking initiatives.

In 2014, Hanover and its partners invested more than ever in working together to develop grantseeking strategies to proactively guide partnerships forward. As a result, grants partners are spending less time prospecting for opportunities to pursue, and more time in the proposal production space.

Much of the proposal development work Hanover conducted across 2014 was split between projects that fund overall institutional improvement initiatives, such as wraparound support for first-year students, and projects that advanced the individual research agendas of primary investigators (PIs).

With respect to grant infrastructure building and faculty professional development, Hanover developed the grantsmanship training service offering in 2014 and anticipates partner requests for this level of support will increase in 2015.

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trends of 2014

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2014 grant projects*

Proposal Development and Support

60%

Opportunity Analysis and Prospecting

25%Grantseeking Strategy and Consulting

14%Other Grant

Support

5%

Grantsmanship Training

2%

*Some projects addressed several of these themes simultaneously, which is why the sum of the request percentages exceeds 100.


In 2014, Hanovers Grant Development Center helped higher education institutions secure over $13 million in funding from the nations most competitive grant programs, including the following federal grant wins.

In addition to guiding proposal development projects, Hanovers grants professionals have helped our partners expand their internal grant capacity and infrastructure.

Hanover supports PIs and Office of Sponsored Programs teams through grantsmanship training workshops, grantseeking strategy development, and grants policy manual development.

In the FY 2014 competition, the U.S. Department of Education funded only 24 proposals of the nearly 500 applications submitted. Hanover partner Hampton University received one of these awards, earning the institution $3.5 million to increase its volume of minority STEM majors.

The Major Research Instrumentation grant program awarded funds to only 175 applications out of the thousands of proposals submitted. West Texas A&M University received two of these awards, totaling over $530,000, to help the institution purchase previously unavailable technology and build institution-wide research infrastructure, specifically focused on environmental science disciplines.

Rising to meet the challenge of the U.S. Department of Educations refined data-driven proposal requirements, Santa Rosa Junior College collaborated with Hanover grants consultants to receive one of only 38 awards granted in the FY 2014 Title V competition. The $2.65 million in awarded funds will help Santa Rosa to increase academic opportunity and attainment for Hispanic and low-income students.

First in the World

NSF MRI

Title V

View our grant development solutions to explore how Hanover can help your institution achieve similar goals in the pursuit of future funding, and learn how the University of Arkansas applies Hanovers support to build grants capacity through our case study on the next page.

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grant strategies

funding announcements and

capacity expansion

proposal development


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The University of Arkansas strives to become a U.S. News & World Report Top 50 research institution. The institutions Office of Research and Sponsored Programs partnered with Hanover in early 2012 to help secure the additional federal and foundation support required to achieve this milestone.

The University of Arkansas expanded the grants knowledge and capacity of its faculty and staff by promoting Hanovers grant writing services as a comprehensive and discipline-based faculty resource that provides the following layers of support.

In partnership, Hanover has worked with the university to:

Streamline the proposal process for faculty members across departments by organizing program teams and managing narrative components;

Identify gaps in the institutions funding portfolio; and

Enable mid-level and junior PIs to move from single proposals and first submission attempts to approach large programmatic grant competitions.

- Dr. Cindy Sagers, Associate Vice Provost for Research and Economic Development

When we first started the partnership, we used Hanover to help single PIs with narrative review and prepare junior faculty to submit their first proposals. The partnership has evolved across the past two years, as we now work to design collaborative efforts that are unique to our campus and focus our grant strategy on targeted priority programs.

Increase ResearchRevenues

GOAL CRITICAL STEPS HANOVER SUPPORT

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTHosts intensive skills workshop and grant writing webinars

CONSULTATIVE SUPPORTReviews, grades, and aligns proposal components

PROJECT MANAGEMENTStreamlines the proposal process by managing deadlines, responsibilities, and stakeholders

AGENCY-SPECIFIC EXPERTISELeverages previous agency experience from NIH, NSF, ED, and other federal funders

Increase faculty grant capacity

Strengthen PIproposals

Improveoperational efficiencies

Secure competitivefunding awards

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faculty grant development

case study on


the grant development process


Learn how the University of Arkansas is using Hanovers support to achieve its Top 50 goal by reading the full case study here.

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grant competitions

upcoming

Throughout the spring, Hanovers Grant Development Center team will work with partners to prepare for upcoming grant competitions. Submissions for several major competitions are due before the end of the academic year, including Title III, Title V, First in the World, and NSFs Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.

Learn what upcoming federal competitions are of interest to our partners in the calendar below and in this supplementary 2015 higher education funding guide.

There is value in taking a long-term view when planning for large-scale federal funding opportunities. At Hanover, we get started on proposals many monthsand sometimes more than a yearahead of projected deadlines to ensure our partners competitively approach these programs. In doing so, we are allowing the proposal team the time needed not only to fine-tune a strong funding narrative, but also to secure the involvement and buy-in of institutional stakeholders and partners who will be tasked with fulfilling the projects vision.

Clinton Doggett Managing Content Director of Hanovers Grant Development Center

expert insight

funder competition submission deadline

ED Title III 3/15/15*

ED Title V 3/15/15*

NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program 3/17/15*

NIH MARC Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research 4/24/15

DOL American Apprenticeship Initiative 4/30/15

ED Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Program 4/22/15

HHS Multiple Sub-agencies (NIH, AHRQ, etc.) 5/5/15-6/5/15

ED First in the World 5/15/15*

NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program 7/15/15*

NSF Noyce Scholars Program 8/4/15*

NSF NSF Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) 8/15/15

NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) (Exploration Projects) 8/15/15*

*Projected-dates subject to change

improvement

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investments

business

talentWe continue to build a robust team of thought leaders and research innovators helping us earn recognition from the Washington Business Journal as the D.C. areas 16th fastest growing company of 2014. As we have grown, we have also deepened our commitment to quality and innovation and invested additional resources to attract and retain the highest quality talent.

In 2014, we created a new research team focused exclusively on serving our higher education partners.

We expanded our team of education-focused primary researchers. These analysts focus exclusively on securing in-depth interviews with peer institutions and education experts.

83 percent of quantitative analysts hired in 2014 hold doctoral degrees in a quantitative field. 100 percent of quantitative analysts hired over the last two years hold advanced degrees a testament to the excellence of Hanovers data solutions.

service

We are dedicated to delivering the highest quality service, and we have the track record to prove it. In addition to growing our analyst teams, we nearly doubled the size of our account management team in 2014. Our investment in client service allows for closer relationships between our partners and their dedicated points of contact at Hanover.

With respect to research delivery, we continue to invest in the most dynamic and cutting edge platforms to present our analyses helping institutions better visualize, model, and interpret report data.

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Mr. Troilo is a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education and Strategic Management at Indiana University. While at Indiana, he worked in client relations for the National Survey of Student Engagement, and later assisted in developing the 2020 Strategic Plan for the University. He obtained his M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Vanderbilt University, where he worked with the dean of graduate studies on degree conferral and matriculation trends analyses.

Dr. Bailey most recently served as the executive vice president at a non-profit organization focused on closing the achievement gap between low-income students and students from higher income households. He previously served as managing director of the Centre for Social Justice, a political think tank in London, where he also chaired the Centres policy research on ethnic diversity and social mobility. Dr. Bailey has also taught at the University of Cambridge, where he received his Ph.D. A graduate of Duke University, he has held roles on numerous research advisory boards and is currently a trustee of the Gifted Foundation.

Ms. Nuland arrived at Hanover after working for several years in a management role in education consulting. Prior to this position, she was a research assistant and graduate lecturer at George Mason University, where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Teacher Education and Literacy. She obtained a masters degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she also worked as a graduate research assistant at the Community College Research Center.

Leader in Executing Higher Education Strategy

Trusted Research Advisor and Former Non-Profit Executive

Literacy Expert with Background in Education Consulting

Jeffrey Bailey, Ph.D.

FoxTroilo

LeilaNuland

Content Director

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investments

business

researcher spotlightsThe following representative biographies showcase the experience of several 2014 additions to Hanovers higher education research team.

Senior Content Director

Content Director

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developments

methodological

data visualizationHanover develops new strategies to transform complex data into actionable insights. With the advent of new technology platforms, we are leading the way in empowering partners with interactive tools that supplement robust report deliverables. With these tools, partners can alter data to examine any segment of interest, simulate the impact of modifying specific variables, and create visualizations that highlight data trends.

One such tool, our dynamic map of online program enrollment data, earned recognition from eCampusNews as the first of its kind to visually break [these data] downinto actionable information.

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developments

methodological

modeling matriculation, tuition, and enrollment

ranking reconstruction tools

We enhanced our algorithms for more accurate predictions of how different variables might impact students matriculation decisions, as well as students success after matriculation. Our data dashboards present institution-specific predictive models based on student-level characteristics. In addition to predicting likelihood of on-time graduation, our dashboards allow administrators to estimate the effect of variables such as scholarship amounts on the probability of student matriculation.

Further, we have developed an enrollment model that forecasts up to six years of total student enrollment figures for over 3,000 higher education institutions. An analysis of historical data has proven Hanovers enrollment model to be accurate to within a 2 percent error rate.

We refined our methodologies for deconstructing college rankings and identifying areas for future improvement. When delivering our rankings analyses, we provide partners with an Excel-based What If simulation tool to determine the effect that positive and negative changes in specific sub-category areas will have on their overall ranking position.

To help partners improve their rankings, we then analyze strengths and weaknesses relative to a pre-determined set of peers, and develop pathways for follow-up research that present data-based strategies for improving institutional position year-over-year.

Learn more about our Rankings Reconstruction Tool and the insights it can provide to your institution here.

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introducing the

Business Analytics Center

Higher education finance and business officers are increasingly looking to data and analytics to guide challenging budgeting and planning decisions. However, many institutions lack the resources

and capacity to execute the required data analysis. Through our experience, research, and in-depth

interviews with scores of higher education business officers, vice presidents of finance, and chief financial officers, Hanover has found that more than half of all institutions have a need for additional analytics support.

The Business Analytics Centers higher education solutions inform initiatives around Revenue Modeling, Expenditure Impact, and Resource Optimization through our custom methodologies, including:

End-of-Year Departmental Technical Efficiency Reporting Impact Assessment of Expenditures on Student Outcomes School and Department Profitability and Subsidy Analysis Faculty Cost Center Analysis

Hanovers Business Analytics Center offering combines our deep knowledge of higher education with advanced business analytics expertise to provide business officers with high-impact analyses that drive better budgeting, planning, and resource management decisions.

To address this growing need in higher education, we are proud to announce our newest offering:

Hanover is seeking an initial cohort of Pilot Partners to launch this offering and pioneer the future of data analytics for higher education in the process.

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Hanover Researchs Business Analytics Center

Learn more about the Business Analytics Center and the Pilot Partnership Program by contacting [email protected]

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@HanoverHigherEd

American Association of Community Colleges @Comm_College The primary advocacy organization for the nations community colleges

The following is a selection of people we follow, blogs and media publications we read, and conferences we plan to attend in the effort of staying on abreast of updates, trends, and thought leadership emerging across the higher education landscape.

Follow us on Twitter @HanoverHigherEd, read along on our Higher Education Insights page, and meet us at upcoming conferences to join in on the conversation.

Follow #EdChat and #GrantChat to keep up-to-date on the trending topics in the education and grant development sectors

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attend

Education Dive educationdive.com Daily digest and top trending news impacting the education industry

EducationNexteducationnext.org EducationNext focuses on evidence-based research and facts to steer transformative advancements in education reform

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We encourage you to explore Hanovers Higher Education Insights webpage, located at hanoverresearch.com/higher-education. We constantly update our site with best practice reports, popular research, education news, and white papers illustrating ways to address key challenges in the higher education landscape such as these top trending posts from the past year.

Top Report Downloads of 2014

1. Analysis of Tuition Pricing Strategies

2. 3 Integral Steps: How to Use Research to Shape Your Strategic Plan

3. Popular and High-Growth Degree Fields

Most Read Blog Posts of 2014

1. Effective Online Marketing and Recruiting Strategies

2. Strategic Planning Stakeholders Survey

3. Improving Alumni Engagement

Our Higher Education Insights page is also where the content referenced throughout this document is housed. At this location you may access the following documents and postings:

Research Trends of 2014 (pg 5)

Education Library Benefits (pg 5)

Saint Leos New Academic Programming Framework (pg 10)

Grant Projections Calendar (pg 16)

Online Program Enrollment Data Map (pg 19)

Rankings Reconstruction Tool (pg 20)

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thank you

resources

acknowledgments

to the following partnering institutions who contributed to the development of this report:

Clarion University of Pennsylvania

Fort Valley State University

Hampton University

Saint Leo University

Santa Rosa Junior College

University of Arkansas

West Texas A&M University

and the countless staff members from Hanovers Higher Education team who dedicated their time, insights, and energy into the development of this report.

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2014

Hanover Research is a global information services firm providing knowledge support to both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Within the field of education, Hanover Research works with a diverse group of over 600 educational organizations, supporting their research, planning, and funding needs through quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, surveys, benchmarking, and grant proposal development. By operating on an affordable, fixed-fee model, we are able to work closely with organizations of all types and provide the kind of sustained, structured decision-making support that helps higher education administrators to overcome any challenge or reach any goal.

To learn more about Hanover Researchs services and our unique model, call 202.559.0050, e-mail [email protected], or visit our website at www.hanoverresearch.com.

HETwitter 3: Plan4HigherEd Twitter 5: highedlive Twitter 3: audreywaters Twitter 4: jeff selingo: http://www: dreducation: com:

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com/blogs/student-affairs-and-technology2: com/blogs/student-affairs-and-technology:

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Documents

Higher Education Market Leadership Report