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Academic Program
Selection and Assessment
How to Choose Which Programs
to Start, Stop, Sustain, or Grow
April 2017

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Goal for Today’s Session
§ Share an overall approach, and best practices, for
an integrated program portfolio evaluation
process
– Participants
– Process
– Analysis
– Integration

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Agenda
1. Where do you start?
2. From Data to Evaluation
3. Key Take-Aways

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But first…

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Make sure there is nothing major blocking the path to a decision-making
process.
Before You Begin…
Photo source: http://i.imgur.com/wsRm02x.jpg

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Before You Begin…
It is important to understand:
§ Programs have life-cycles
§ You are ready to identify where each of your programs are
§ Doing this once is helpful, doing this systematically creates strength
§ This is not something to be done ‘behind closed doors’
Check out the organization’s assumptions surrounding program evaluation.
No process will overcome unidentified
assumptions.

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So, where do you start?

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Thousands of Potential Programs…
Everyone has a favorite program…

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Limitless Possibilities
Everyone has a favorite market metric and source of data.

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Integrating Data and Knowledge
A program portfolio occupies two dimensions, and both are important to its
evaluation.
Inside the Four Walls
§ Standards
§ Faculty
§ Facilities
§ Cost
Outside the Four Walls
§ Student Interest
§ Employment
Demand
§ Competitive Intensity
§ Your market area
Evaluating a portfolio requires more than just
data. It requires a process.

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First: Identify the Markets You Serve
Where do your students come from?

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Schools often serve more than one market, state or region.
Are You National or Local…or Both?
Campus A
Campus B

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Second: Confirm Strategy
Check it out - Have you
drifted?
Anchor the portfolio evaluation in your institution’s strategy and mission.

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Third: Decide What is Important
What are your priorities?
What market factors are key for your institution?
Student
Demand
Employment
Opportunities
Degree Fit
Competitive
Intensity

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Fourth: Walk Through The Data
Comparisons to other programs help you interpret the data, find
opportunities, see problem areas.
100,000Program X 8,690 9.4% 39,721 -664

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Agenda
1. Where do you start?
2. From Data to Evaluation
3. Key Take-Aways

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From Data to Evaluation: Process
This is a well-tested and successful process for looking at a portfolio and
deciding what programs to “Start, Stop, Sustain, or Grow.”
1. Data and
Scoring
2. Workshop 3. Follow-up
§ Uses facts and data
effectively
§ Incorporates judgment of
key stakeholders
§ Identifies the best new
programs, not just “good
enough” programs
§ Earns the understanding
and buy-in of key
stakeholders
§ Positions the organization
for next steps
– Creating an action plan for
teaching out, sustaining,
fixing, or growing existing
programs

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From Data to Evaluation: Process
Why does it work?
Inside the Four Walls Outside the Four Walls
Image Source: http://applesofgold.com/Merchant2/wedding-bands/POL52-24-Set1C.jpg
§ The process is transparent
§ It is cross-discipline, cross-functional
§ Uses quantitative data to inform, Academic and
Operational knowledge to decide
§ It creates alignment

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Where Do You Want to Spend Your Energy?

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Cooperative and Transparent Process
Good program decisions take more than numbers…they take intellectual capital and
teaming.
Workshop participants should
include:
• Academic Leaders and Partners
• Enrollment/Admissions
• Finance
• Marketing
• Operations
• Institutional Effectives
• Student Services
• Career Services
• ….and others with a stake and
knowledge

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The agenda will vary depending on the number of campuses, the number of award
levels, and whether the focus is on existing programs, new programs, or both.
From Data to Evaluation: Workshop
Agenda
Sample Workshop Agenda
Day 1 Review Workshop Objectives
Explain Approach to Program Selection
Decide how to Decide
Refine Program Scoring
Select New Programs
Day 2 Match New Programs to Campuses/Online
Discuss Current Programs: Grow/Sustain/Fix/Stop
Wrap Up
1. Data and
Scoring
2. Workshop 3. Follow-up

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Collaboration and Decision Approach
Collaboration foundations:
The degree to which people feel a process, decision or outcome is theirs
The degree to which people see and understand the problem in the same way
The trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of the other
Decision Models: A Sample
Person-in-Charge
Decides Without
Group Discussion
Person-in-Charge
Decides After
Group Discussion
Majority
Vote
Unanimous
Agreement
Red
Yellow
Green
§ Ownership:
§ Alignment:
§ Trust:

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The workshop will produce an agreed upon view of your current portfolio, and
identified new program opportunities.
From Data to Evaluation: The Output
The Master Scorecard

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The Workshop is Just the Start….
There will be plenty of work after the workshop.
1. Data and
Scoring 2. Workshop 3. Follow-up
§ Gap analysis for existing programs: For existing programs that are underperforming
in attracting or placing students, what are the reasons, and are they fixable?
§ Deep dives on specific potential new programs
– Employment opportunities: Who are the likely employers? What skills and credentials are
most important in their hiring processes?
– Competitor programs: What content do they cover? How do they position the program in
their marketing materials? Do they target specific types of students with specific
credentials? Do they indicate what they expect their students to do with their new
credential? How long are those programs, and how are they priced?
– Financial analysis
– Regulatory analysis
– Accreditation analysis
– Identification of clinical/externship sites (if needed)
§ Planning, development, and launch of new programs

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The Goal: A Vibrant Institution

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Agenda
1. Where do you start?
2. From Data to Evaluation
3. Key Take-Aways

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Key Take-Aways
§ Don’t ignore any of the big market elements when you’re evaluating programs.
– Student demand
– Job opportunities
– Competitive intensity
– Degree fit
§ Each data element has some flaws or limitations. That’s why we have people. J
§ Don’t ignore institutional knowledge, but don’t allow it to dictate either.
§ Analyzing programs requires a process that respects and engages key stakeholders.
§ Data can inform, and should, but it is management and academic judgement that is
required to reach informed choices.
Leverage institutional knowledge and expertise – Engage it!
The most important take-away is the simplest: you have the ability to consistently,
comprehensively and cooperatively evaluate programs based on market conditions.

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For More Information…
To contact Gray Associates:
Mary Upchurch
Senior Partner
Gray Associates, Inc.
Mary.Upchurch@GrayAssociates.com
480-390-7230