Optimize your institution's academic offerings for financial sustainability and strategic growth.

Comprehensive Financial Analysis

Our Academic Program Mix Analysis begins with a thorough examination of the costs, revenues, and margins associated with all your academic offerings. By analyzing both general education courses and major-specific courses, we identify:

• High-margin programs that contribute significantly to your institution's financial health.
• Break-even programs that sustain themselves without contributing additional margin.
• Deficit programs that may require strategic adjustments.

Understanding these financial dynamics empowers your leadership team to make informed decisions that balance academic mission with fiscal responsibility.

Demand Assessment

We measure program demand using a dual approach:

1. Prospective Student Interest: Analyzing anticipated interest areas of incoming students over the past three years to gauge market trends.
2. Graduate Output: Examining the number of graduates in each major over the same period to assess program retention and completion rates.

This dual snapshot provides insights into student preferences at matriculation and graduation, helping you align your offerings with student needs.

Strategic Recommendations

Our analysis provides your team with much of the information necessary to:

• Streamline or discontinue programs with low demand and high costs.
• Optimize high-cost programs by identifying efficiencies without compromising educational quality.
• Invest in high-demand, low-cost programs to enhance revenue streams.

Our goal is to provide actionable insights that support both financial stability and academic excellence.

Collaborative Process

We value an open and collaborative approach, engaging with faculty, department chairs, and administrators throughout the process. By involving key stakeholders, we ensure:

• Transparency in data analysis and interpretation.
• Institution-specific insights that respect your unique strengths and traditions.
• Empowerment of your team through shared understanding of financial underpinnings.

Data Collection and Analysis Timeline

Data Collection (First 2 Weeks): We work closely with your designated data personnel to gather necessary information from the past two academic years, ensuring alignment between academic and financial data.

Analysis (Next 4 Weeks): Our team conducts a detailed analysis, including:

• Financial metrics per course prefix and student credit hour.
• Enrollment trends and yield rates by major.
• Development of a program mix matrix combining cost, demand, and yield data.

Institutional Review (Following 2 Weeks): We present preliminary findings to your departmental experts for validation and refinement, incorporating their feedback to enhance accuracy and relevance.

Final Report Delivery: We provide a comprehensive report designed to inform strategic planning and decision-making for your institution's future.

Empowering Informed Decisions

With a background rooted in academia, we are committed to:

• Educating and empowering your team to understand and navigate financial complexities.
• Providing valuable context without prescribing specific actions, respecting your autonomy in decision-making.
• Supporting your mission by aligning financial sustainability with academic integrity and institutional values.

Ready to optimize your academic program mix for a sustainable future?

Contact us today to discuss how our Academic Program Mix Analysis can benefit your institution.

David J. Bauer, Ph.D.
Director
Casagrande Institute for Higher Education Effectiveness
djbauer@viterbo.edu