As high school seniors are finishing up their first semester they are starting to apply to colleges. The interesting part isn't what they see it's what university admissions see. Chapter 14 of Measure What Matters talks all about how to measure higher education.
We know from experience they send us bunch of stuff in the mail, and we sometimes fill out a survey about our visit, but we don't know everything else they are doing. I know people that say all colleges and universities are alike. However they are very wrong, Katie Paine says in order to start measuring the university college has to have some unique quality to stick out. After that is established, you can start.
First you want to prioritize the target audiences. Universities/colleges are interested in not only getting students to study at their facility, stay there and eventually support it as an alumni. Next you have to ask the questions that you want to measure, remembering that this will define you. Katie Paine however doesn't want universities/colleges to get too consumed in creating a benchmark, though peer organizations are important. She suggest having 3 comparators. Once this is all set up pick your topic, and collect the data. Think outside the box, and don't go for the easy numbers like enrollment rate verses graduation rate. It's important to know the academic environment, what people think (including what people say about you), and behavior. Finally analyze, make changes, and combine to measure.
Schools should keep this in mind when looking through enrollment applications.
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