This report summarizes the results of a February 2009 national survey of more than 1,500 prospective adult students. The research focuses on the impact of the early 2009 economic environment on course/program selection and enrollment plans. In addition, the research analyzes factors and selection criteria that are prioritized when adult learners consider and seek information about courses, programs, and schools. The influence and credibility of information sources and marketing channels are also examined.

How do institutions structure and organize their online distance learning units? How are online courses developed and how is tech support offered at institutions? How do institutions engage faculty in online degree programs? This report will help institutions understand how to provide continuity between online and face-to-face courses. It explores best practices for providing student services, developing course content, and engaging faculty who teach online or hybrid courses.

Developed for one of Eduventures' Continuing and Professional Education Learning Collaborative member institutions, this report examines the characteristics of students who chose not to apply to or enroll at the institution and the reasons behind their decisions. The study also explores students' perceptions of the institution's reputation. An excellent example of the type of custom research that Eduventures undertakes for its members, the report also serves as a guide for other institutions seeking to understand why students do not apply or enroll.

How do institutions successfully market their continuing education programming to alumni? Drawing on interviews with continuing education and alumni association staff at several institutions, this custom report identifies the best practices for alumni outreach that will maximize alumni participation in continuing education offerings - and improve alumni relations overall.

This report provides national and peer-level operational benchmark data for use in business/strategic planning, program development, and forecasting, with a focus on analyzing the relationship between continuing and professional education units’ organizational structures, institutional characteristics, and program portfolios. The data may be used to identify peer groups and trends in program growth rates, and characterize the scope and diversity of program portfolios and customer segments.

Which institutions have implemented collaborative graduate degree programs with international institutions? This report identifies the prevalence of international partnerships in the U.S., profiles the institutions that have implemented these partnerships, and provides best practices for establishing and structuring relationships with international institutions.

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs and Eduventures’ estimates, more than 1.5 million veterans were eligible to receive education benefits in 2006 (the last year for which data is available), but less than 25% of those veterans tapped government funding resources for postsecondary education. With the total eligible pool expected to grow to nearly 3.3 million by 2016, Eduventures investigated the reasons why some military veterans elect to use their VA education benefits to pursue postsecondary education while others do not. This report explores current military members' and veterans' study motivations, career aspirations, and study preferences. Data collected from this study will help online providers with their future enrollment goals and growth strategy, as well as marketing and recruitment campaigns aimed at this population.

This study explores how continuing and professional education units successfully approach the development, marketing, and delivery of contract and customized training. Founded on discussions with executives from more than 20 member institutions, the research will help members refine their contract and customized training program development process, marketing, operational strategies, and overall growth potential.

Analyzing labor market data, prospective student survey data, and interviews with industry experts, Eduventures examined the educational preferences of working adults aged 45 and older in the Tampa, Florida area. Institutions seeking to serve this maturing market must understand potential students' preferences - and those of the region's employers. The report's insight into the unique implications of this maturing population will be crucial in identifying new program development opportunities.

Which software systems are institutions successfully using to perform key SIS functions? Which systems are best suited for facilitating the exchange of information across multiple institutions? This custom report assists institutions in evaluating student information systems and in making the build or buy decision by profiling the experiences of other institutions, including those that are part of online consortia.

This is the final report in a series designed to assess the market landscape for certificate programs. This report draws upon data from national surveys of more than 1,800 certificate-seeking respondents and 731 education and training decision-makers at corporate and government employers. The research provides a roadmap for marketers and strategists to follow when positioning, marketing, and selling their certificate programs to employer audiences. Continuing and professional education units can use this report as part of their strategic planning process, to develop and refine marketing and sales strategies and tactics for certificate programs.

This is the second part of series designed to assess the market landscape for certificate programs so that continuing and professional education units can improve their development, positioning, and delivery of these types of credentials. This research component focuses on employer certificate program utilization, and curriculum and delivery preferences. Interviews were conducted with 731 education and training decision-makers at corporate and government employers, concerning their roles as purchasers and endorsers of certificate programs as a learning and development vehicle for employees. Although certificate programs represent a major area of investment and revenue for CPE members, prior to this study, relatively little research was available to identify emerging opportunities in the certificate market, or to test fundamental assumptions about the market value of certificate programs.

This is the first part of a series examining consumer and employer preferences for certificate programs. Data was analyzed from a national survey including more than 1,800 certificate-seeking respondents. This project focuses on the demographic and motivational profiles of certificate consumers, the disciplines and interdisciplinary areas where there is demand for certificates, and consumers’ perceived value of certificate-specific attributes (e.g., degree program articulation, professional association endorsement). Although certificate programs represent a major area of investment and revenue for CPE members, prior to this study, relatively little research was available to identify emerging opportunities in the certificate market, or to test fundamental assumptions about the market value of certificate programs.

The rapidly increasing demand for online courses and degree programs (whether fully online or hybrid) has been the principal driver of enrollment growth in continuing education. As student demand grows and the online education market matures, it is more important than ever for CPE members to understand what models and practices for developing, delivering, and supporting online continuing education offerings are successful in the marketplace. This study provides a unique, up-to-date perspective on trends, structures, and costs in online continuing education. In addition to addressing the main themes of organizational models and benchmarks, this investigation yields basic descriptive statistics on CPE members’ online continuing education offerings – characterizing the scale of their online enrollments, providing forecasted growth rates, and assessing the scope of online course offerings by online delivery mode (e.g., synchronous/asynchronous, hybrid/100% online).

This report highlights innovative marketing practices used by CPE-LC members and profiles specific practices across the marketing “value chain.” Activities profiled include: technology-enabled tracking of inquiry requests; redesigning marketing roles and workflow structures; improving inquiry management; implementing a customer-loyalty program; and using a multi-tiered approach for improving internet marketing. Each practice represents a solution to existing problems or inefficiencies in an institution’s continuing and professional education marketing operations and highlights the issues of change management, re-engineering marketing systems and structures, and continued process improvement.

This research brief examines the roles that schools of education deans, directors of development, and faculty can play in fundraising and details effective practices for improving performance in annual fundraising, foundation and corporate giving, and major and principal gift fundraising.

Through in-depth case studies of institutions with robust and successful event programming , Eduventures explores their experiences with event management platforms. This report is a resource for any institution looking to expand or improve its event management capabilities and for those schools weighing the decision whether to build or buy.

Building off of Eduventures' foundational work in this area, this study examines how more individualized and realistic goals can improve gift officer performance. Along with a complete set of refreshed benchmarks for gift officer goals and outcomes for FY09, this report provides five key recommendations to increase the success of gift officers during this difficult period, including using a more individualized approach to creating metrics, developing new metrics based on portfolio composition and prospect stages, and setting attainable visit and solicitation goals.

In a competitive market for development professionals, creating an attractive salary structure based on the knowledge of compensation benchmarks is critical to the recruitment and retention of employees. This benchmarking study is based on a survey of 25 institutions, which included an extensive quantitative and qualitative questionnaire about 18 detailed development positions. Additional comparisons are offered based on geographic region, levels of responsibility, institutional control, and campus setting.

What impact are institutions seeing from the economic environment? What information and criteria should institutions consider to efficiently and effectively allocate financial resources for academic programs? What are the most important and reportable criteria with which to benchmark program operating costs (i.e., revenue, instruction-related costs, operations-related costs, public service-related costs, etc.) to help with decision-making? Eduventures addresses these questions in this report and provides short- and long-term action plans for higher education leaders to use during challenging financial times.

What organizational models and staff structures are institutions using for effective principal gifts operations? What are the gift officer roles and portfolio distributions for principal gifts operations? As part of a series of benchmark and practices reports on principal gifts operations, this report provides insight into how seven institutions of varying size and performance staff and structure principal gifts operations. Among the report’s key findings is that institutions most often use a balanced model for principal gifts operations, which usually includes a formal department with dedicated frontline staff (an average of 2.3 FTE) and frontline staff distributed across the institution managing principal gifts prospects.

Development offices and institutions planning to implement a new advancement database can learn from the experiences, challenges, and successes of their peers. This report features case studies of six institutions in different stages of database implementation, providing insight into the entire process. The study also examines project timelines to see which are most effective, as well as how data clean-up is addressed.

Capacity screenings - and the data they reveal about alumni and friends' potential to make significant philanthropic contributions - are critical resources for an institution's development office. Because screenings can require a sizeable investment of time and money, development leaders should use this report as a resource when weighing capacity screening options and selecting a service provider.

How are universities using internal data modeling to identify their top donor prospects? How does data modeling create efficiencies and save money? How can development offices apply the outcomes of data modeling to their operations? In this report, Eduventures provides informative case studies of five institutions that have used data modeling in different ways and by using different variables and analysis.

How do staffing, data collection, and technology resources change as a prospect research operation grows and matures? This custom inquiry draws on three previous Eduventures studies to examine the key questions facing growing prospect research operations.

How do non-profit organizations identify donors with a passion for their cause? And, how can development offices use these outreach methods effectively to find donors with a passion for the institution and its mission, rather than simply a personal affilitation. This report highlights innovative lead-generation practices in the non-profit sector, including online initiatives, events, and corporate partnerships.

Predictive modeling can give prospect researchers insight into the factors associated with giving and help them to zero in on the most promising donor prospects. This benchmarking study details the most effective variables, analyses, and data sources used by prospect researchers for identifying major gift prospects and explores the most important information to collect in alumni surveys.

Through data collected from member institutions on the performance outcomes of nearly 1,000 individual gift officers and a benchmarking survey of institutional performance measurement practices, this report uses empirical evidence to help member institutions set appropriate performance goals and prioritize metrics when managing development officers.

Prospect research departments can choose from a wide array of products and services for database management, prospect information searches, prospect asset screening, data mining, and predictive modeling. These departments need tools that facilitiate information-sharing with development officers and other departments. This benchmarking survey of leading public and private universities examines which products offer the best solutions to prospect research departments and looks at cutting-edge technologies looming on the horizon.

University development organizations face the challenge of scaling to meet demands for ever-larger fundraising campaigns while recruiting and retaining talented staff in a tight labor market for fundraising professionals. Being able to identify, develop, and manage high-performing gift officers effectively has become a critical component of success. This report is based on data collected from more than 50 member institutions on individual gift officer performance outcomes and a survey of over 600 gift officers around individual and organizational attributes that support their productivity. This study provides a framework for understanding the factors that have the greatest impact on gift officer performance in order to help development organizations target their recruitment and professional development investments.

Eduventures reached out to superintendents and school of education deans to gather their insight and recommendations for how schools of education can help P-12 schools during a challenging economy. These leaders explored the roles that schools of education should play in affecting education policy, in helping cash-strapped schools and districts continue to offer their staff professional development opportunities, and in better preparing educators for the classroom.

This report summarizes the results of a February 2009 national survey of more than 1,500 prospective adult students. The research focuses on the impact of the early 2009 economic environment on course/program selection and enrollment plans. In addition, the research analyzes factors and selection criteria that are prioritized when adult learners consider and seek information about courses, programs, and schools. The influence and credibility of information sources and marketing channels are also examined.

Has the recession affected parents' ability to pay for their children's education at public institutions? This report draws upon survey results from over 5,500 parents and guardians of freshmen who matriculated at public institutions in the Fall of 2009 about the possible impact on their sources of funding, the impact on parent and student behavior, and potential institutional support during difficult times. Specific topics covered in the report include the potential for student transfers, stop outs and credit hour reductions; previously planned sources of financing; and how parents intend to alter financing plans due to the recession.

How has the recession affected parents' ability to finance their children's education? This report draws upon survey results from over 1,500 parents and guardians of freshmen who matriculated at private institutions in the Fall of 2009 about the possible impact on their sources of funding, the impact on parent and student behavior, and potential institutional support during difficult times. Specific topics covered in the report include the potential for student transfers, stop outs and credit hour reductions; previously planned sources of financing; and how parents intend to alter financing plans due to the recession.

What impact are institutions seeing from the economic environment? What information and criteria should institutions consider to efficiently and effectively allocate financial resources for academic programs? What are the most important and reportable criteria with which to benchmark program operating costs (i.e., revenue, instruction-related costs, operations-related costs, public service-related costs, etc.) to help with decision-making? Eduventures addresses these questions in this report and provides short- and long-term action plans for higher education leaders to use during challenging financial times.

This study provides updated estimates and forecasts of the size and shape of the U.S. online higher education market, answering the following questions: What is the current estimated size of the online higher education market, and how is this forecast to change over time? How is the online higher education market segmented by control, credential and field of study? What are the key dynamics of market development going forward?

This report investigates choices, attitudes and behaviors concerning debt among students at private universities. Drawing upon survey data from over 2,000 fourth-year students, the report examines four specific areas: the debt profile of students; acceptability of debt among students; student behaviors associated with debt; and finally the impact of debt on student academic and career choices.

This report investigates choices, attitudes and behaviors concerning debt among students at public universities. Drawing upon survey data from over 4,000 fourth-year students, the report examines four specific areas: the debt profile of students; acceptability of debt among students; student behaviors associated with debt; and finally the impact of debt on student academic and career choices.

How can colleges and universities experiencing success in admissions and retention use their institutional momentum to build a solid national reputation? Through interviews with nine admissions directors at flagship public universities, Eduventures identifies the elements that must be in place and the strategies for institutions to follow to reach out to out-of-state students and grow their reputations on a larger scale.

Undergraduate programs are a significant part of some schools of education portfolios, yet nationally the number of bachelor degrees conferred in education is stagnant and even shrinking at some institutions. In today’s competitive landscape, schools of education have to be in sync with the needs of students and recognize that undergraduate education students require different marketing considerations than other majors. This report synthesizes data from several surveys to provide insight on improving the effectiveness of marketing efforts targeted to undergraduate education students. It profiles these students' characteristics, preferences, and their perceptions of the value of an education degree, and provides recommendations for improving the effectiveness of Web site marketing.

This brief explores five challenges to recruiting math and science teachers: teacher pay, lack of consideration of a career in teaching, lack of a comprehensive marketing strategy, different talent pools, and inconvenient preparation programs. To aid schools of education in facing these recruiting challenges, Eduventures shares successful strategies used by other institutions.

This report summarizes the results of a February 2009 national survey of more than 1,500 prospective adult students. The research focuses on the impact of the early 2009 economic environment on course/program selection and enrollment plans. In addition, the research analyzes factors and selection criteria that are prioritized when adult learners consider and seek information about courses, programs, and schools. The influence and credibility of information sources and marketing channels are also examined.

Has the recession affected parents' ability to pay for their children's education at public institutions? This report draws upon survey results from over 5,500 parents and guardians of freshmen who matriculated at public institutions in the Fall of 2009 about the possible impact on their sources of funding, the impact on parent and student behavior, and potential institutional support during difficult times. Specific topics covered in the report include the potential for student transfers, stop outs and credit hour reductions; previously planned sources of financing; and how parents intend to alter financing plans due to the recession.

How has the recession affected parents' ability to finance their children's education? This report draws upon survey results from over 1,500 parents and guardians of freshmen who matriculated at private institutions in the Fall of 2009 about the possible impact on their sources of funding, the impact on parent and student behavior, and potential institutional support during difficult times. Specific topics covered in the report include the potential for student transfers, stop outs and credit hour reductions; previously planned sources of financing; and how parents intend to alter financing plans due to the recession.

Drawing upon survey responses from more than 5,800 high school seniors as well as focus groups with 78 high school seniors nationwide, this report provides an introduction and overview of the college search process among prospective students by examining when prospective students begin their college search process and how the timing of their search differs by student segments. Among the issues examined in the report are popular tools and resources; the timing of initial interest and decision to apply; number of applications submitted and admissions received; and the timing of the decision to enroll.

How do prospective students use online search tools during their college search? Are there differences in use among student segments? This report draws upon survey responses from more than 5,800 high school seniors as well as focus groups with 78 high school seniors nationwide. Among the issues examined in the report are general usage of online search tools and perceived usefulness of specific online tools and web sites broken down by several student segments including, geographic region; annual household income; SAT score; and race/ethnicity.

Once the explicit purview of academic affairs, student learning is increasingly recognized as a shared responsibility between all segments of the academy. Student affairs divisions interested in demonstrating the value of co-curricular experiences to students' education need to begin assessing programs and student learning outcomes. This report provides benchmark information on outcomes assessment within the student affairs divisions at 12 large research universities.

To understand the unique challenges faced by adult undergraduate students and how those challenges affect retention rates, Eduventures examined the adult undergraduate student populations at several institutions. This report also benchmarks the retention rates for adult learners at these institutions and the factors that may influence adult learners to discontinue their studies.

This report investigates choices, attitudes and behaviors concerning debt among students at private universities. Drawing upon survey data from over 2,000 fourth-year students, the report examines four specific areas: the debt profile of students; acceptability of debt among students; student behaviors associated with debt; and finally the impact of debt on student academic and career choices.

How do high-performing institutions identify students at academic risk? What kinds of early intervention efforts have had success in reaching these students? Eduventures presents case studies of six institutions that are outperforming their peers in their six-year graduation rates.

This report investigates choices, attitudes and behaviors concerning debt among students at public universities. Drawing upon survey data from over 4,000 fourth-year students, the report examines four specific areas: the debt profile of students; acceptability of debt among students; student behaviors associated with debt; and finally the impact of debt on student academic and career choices.

Many universities are moving away from multiculturalism toward an active embrace of cultural differences, recognizing that students from different ethnic and cultural traditions may need unique patterns of programming and support to realize their full potential. This study investigated participation in co-curricular programming by students from different ethnic backgrounds and the association between patterns of participation and outcomes of student satisfaction and academic performance. The findings of this report will help student affairs professionals determine whether minority student populations would benefit from targeted programming or from involvement in particular activities on and off campus. The report also identifies areas of concern for each minority population that may deserve special attention on some campuses.

Where should schools of education focus their limited marketing budgets? Which marketing channels are most effective at reaching potential school of education students? Using survey data and interviews from member institutions, this report identifies how and where schools of education have had success with their marketing efforts and emphasizes the importance of partnerships for increasing enrollments.

Acknowledging that academic, social, and financial factors strongly affect student attrition, this report shares effective practices that institutions are using to help students with academic problems. From how to identify and predict which students will have academic issues to academic probation and reinstatement policies, the study provides important benchmarking research. The report also explores average retention and graduation rates for students experiencing academic difficulty.

Eduventures' research shows that prospective students use college Web sites at a much higher rate than any other information sources. Web sites also rank as the second most trusted source of information after campus visits among prospective students. Given the prominence the Web plays in college admissions and recruiting, Enrollment Management Learning Collaborative members are looking for consumer use and preferences data, as well as leading Web practices, which will inform their strategic Web marketing plans. This study looks at key Web content and design data from the consumer or user perspective. In addition, the study examines common staffing, budgeting, and outsourcing practices, with an eye toward identifying opportunities and pitfalls on which members can improve their operational management of the admissions site.

Millennial students are woefully ill-informed about many of the basics of college financing, including how aid is distributed and typical debt levels at graduation. Colleges and universities can use this research from Eduventures to improve education about college financing, particularly in designing recruiting and financial aid collateral to share with prospective students. With these efforts, institutions will begin to make a positive impact on student satisfaction and persistence and create a more transparent and effective financial aid process.

Increasingly, colleges and universities are devoting resources to recruiting first-generation students as well as students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. These students face unique barriers to college access and also differ from other groups in their patterns of information collection and decision-making. This study provides an in-depth view of the barriers low-SES and first-generation students face in attending college, while analyzing the ways that first-generation and low-SES students compare to other cohorts vis-à-vis admissions trends, key influencers, academic achievement and preparation, professional aspirations, information use and trust, as well as key value drivers. The report also provides recommendations for effective marketing practices that can be used to recruit these important student segments.

A public university member was interested in conducting benchmarking research on freshman- and sophomore-year experience programs. This research will assist the university with developing its own program for sophomores, as well as examining freshman support programs. In particular, the sponsoring institution has established goals of “enhancing student satisfaction, persistence, and progress toward timely graduation,” and is interested in what other members in the collaborative have undertaken toward this effort. Key questions to be addressed in this research investigation include: Do other member institutions have a sophomore-year experience program? What are the program’s key components? How does it build upon the freshman-year experience program, if at all? How do other member institutions measure the success of their sophomore-year experience programs? Specifically, what are the key metrics utilized (e.g., feedback from student satisfaction surveys, retention rates)? What impact have sophomore-year experience programs had on outcome measures at member institutions, including sophomore retention and timely graduation?

This report provides insight on key drivers of educational value and the concept of educational ROI. Drawing upon survey responses from over 6,200 enrolling freshmen nationwide, the report highlights key enrollment drivers such as professional preparation, academic programs and affordability as well as drivers such as level of technology usage, community service opportunities, and ethnic diversity. The report then analyzes the data by student segment including ethnic background, academic caliber and socio-economic status and concludes by discussing the implications for marketing to specific student segments.

How are enrollment management functions staffed and organized? Through a survey of 12 Learning Collaborative insitutions, Eduventures identified four organizational models for enrollment management, each with different staffing, responsibilities, and budgets. Institutions can use this report to benchmark their own enrollment management operations and to help strategize for future reorganization.

Building off of Eduventures' foundational work in this area, this study examines how more individualized and realistic goals can improve gift officer performance. Along with a complete set of refreshed benchmarks for gift officer goals and outcomes for FY09, this report provides five key recommendations to increase the success of gift officers during this difficult period, including using a more individualized approach to creating metrics, developing new metrics based on portfolio composition and prospect stages, and setting attainable visit and solicitation goals.

In a competitive market for development professionals, creating an attractive salary structure based on the knowledge of compensation benchmarks is critical to the recruitment and retention of employees. This benchmarking study is based on a survey of 25 institutions, which included an extensive quantitative and qualitative questionnaire about 18 detailed development positions. Additional comparisons are offered based on geographic region, levels of responsibility, institutional control, and campus setting.

This report provides an overview of institutional investments and practices related to faculty development at member institutions based on interviews and benchmark data collected from members over the course of late fall and winter of 2008. The key objectives of this investigation are to help institutions identify cost-effective and high impact forms of faculty orientation and development and to illustrate innovations occurring at institutions to create an engaged, high-quality, and committed faculty. Examples of organizational models, investments, and effective practices for faculty orientation and development are reviewed.

This report reviews the results of a primary research investigation of the faculty orientation and development needs of full-time faculty at member institutions. The key objectives of this report are to cross reference the faculty orientation and development tasks that are offered by institutions to those that are preferred by faculty members, in terms of making them feel well-prepared and supported. In addition, this yields information about the perceived unmet needs that faculty have in the area of professional development that can be used to make changes in your programs. Differences in perception by faculty type – by years of service, time in career, gender and ethnic group – are considered where the number of respondents enables meaningful differences to be identified.

What organizational models and staff structures are institutions using for effective principal gifts operations? What are the gift officer roles and portfolio distributions for principal gifts operations? As part of a series of benchmark and practices reports on principal gifts operations, this report provides insight into how seven institutions of varying size and performance staff and structure principal gifts operations. Among the report’s key findings is that institutions most often use a balanced model for principal gifts operations, which usually includes a formal department with dedicated frontline staff (an average of 2.3 FTE) and frontline staff distributed across the institution managing principal gifts prospects.

Working in partnership with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), this report analyzes existing data in the Professional Education Data System (PEDS) and examines common characteristics and benchmarks for schools of education. Specifically, this research provides an overview of trends related to serving students (the production of graduates from education programs, education program enrollments, and program completions); recruiting and retaining faculty (faculty counts, faculty characteristics, and teaching loads); and streamlining operations (acquisition of research funding, financial metrics, selected operating ratios, and use of online education). In addition, the report segments and analyzes institutions based on key features such as research focus, service to the state, undergraduate or graduate focus, part-time focus, and other institutional characteristics.

Drawing on surveys and interviews with 15 institutions, this report provides best practices for developing new summer sessions programs. Institutions can use this research to benchmark their own summer sessions unit practices, to identify the most effective strategic planning processes, and to understand how to get faculty involved in new program development and how to fund it.

How do staffing, data collection, and technology resources change as a prospect research operation grows and matures? This custom inquiry draws on three previous Eduventures studies to examine the key questions facing growing prospect research operations.

Through data collected from member institutions on the performance outcomes of nearly 1,000 individual gift officers and a benchmarking survey of institutional performance measurement practices, this report uses empirical evidence to help member institutions set appropriate performance goals and prioritize metrics when managing development officers.

University development organizations face the challenge of scaling to meet demands for ever-larger fundraising campaigns while recruiting and retaining talented staff in a tight labor market for fundraising professionals. Being able to identify, develop, and manage high-performing gift officers effectively has become a critical component of success. This report is based on data collected from more than 50 member institutions on individual gift officer performance outcomes and a survey of over 600 gift officers around individual and organizational attributes that support their productivity. This study provides a framework for understanding the factors that have the greatest impact on gift officer performance in order to help development organizations target their recruitment and professional development investments.

Has the recession affected parents' ability to pay for their children's education at public institutions? This report draws upon survey results from over 5,500 parents and guardians of freshmen who matriculated at public institutions in the Fall of 2009 about the possible impact on their sources of funding, the impact on parent and student behavior, and potential institutional support during difficult times. Specific topics covered in the report include the potential for student transfers, stop outs and credit hour reductions; previously planned sources of financing; and how parents intend to alter financing plans due to the recession.

How has the recession affected parents' ability to finance their children's education? This report draws upon survey results from over 1,500 parents and guardians of freshmen who matriculated at private institutions in the Fall of 2009 about the possible impact on their sources of funding, the impact on parent and student behavior, and potential institutional support during difficult times. Specific topics covered in the report include the potential for student transfers, stop outs and credit hour reductions; previously planned sources of financing; and how parents intend to alter financing plans due to the recession.

Developed for one of Eduventures' Continuing and Professional Education Learning Collaborative member institutions, this report examines the characteristics of students who chose not to apply to or enroll at the institution and the reasons behind their decisions. The study also explores students' perceptions of the institution's reputation. An excellent example of the type of custom research that Eduventures undertakes for its members, the report also serves as a guide for other institutions seeking to understand why students do not apply or enroll.

This report investigates choices, attitudes and behaviors concerning debt among students at private universities. Drawing upon survey data from over 2,000 fourth-year students, the report examines four specific areas: the debt profile of students; acceptability of debt among students; student behaviors associated with debt; and finally the impact of debt on student academic and career choices.

This report investigates choices, attitudes and behaviors concerning debt among students at public universities. Drawing upon survey data from over 4,000 fourth-year students, the report examines four specific areas: the debt profile of students; acceptability of debt among students; student behaviors associated with debt; and finally the impact of debt on student academic and career choices.

How can schools improve the return on the financial investment in higher education and prepare students for the workplace? This report highlights the importance of educating students early on about financial aid planning and the ways in which institutions can help ease students' financial burden. Institutions can use this information to consider their financial aid processes and career preparation support services.

How can colleges and universities experiencing success in admissions and retention use their institutional momentum to build a solid national reputation? Through interviews with nine admissions directors at flagship public universities, Eduventures identifies the elements that must be in place and the strategies for institutions to follow to reach out to out-of-state students and grow their reputations on a larger scale.

Undergraduate programs are a significant part of some schools of education portfolios, yet nationally the number of bachelor degrees conferred in education is stagnant and even shrinking at some institutions. In today’s competitive landscape, schools of education have to be in sync with the needs of students and recognize that undergraduate education students require different marketing considerations than other majors. This report synthesizes data from several surveys to provide insight on improving the effectiveness of marketing efforts targeted to undergraduate education students. It profiles these students' characteristics, preferences, and their perceptions of the value of an education degree, and provides recommendations for improving the effectiveness of Web site marketing.

Drawing on data from a survey of more than 600 educators, this report explores ways in which schools of education can strategically identify, design, and advertise attractive market opportunities to increase enrollments and meet demand for summer session programming among educators. The study profiles a typical summer session education student, including their motivations and preferences in areas such as delivery format and subject areas, and provides suggestions for effectively marketing summer session programming to educators.

Incorporating results from two surveys of current and prospective adult learners, as well as the results of a benchmarking study of schools of education marketing activities, this report examines the motivations and delivery preferences of adult learners interested in education programming and the advertising messages and marketing channels that have proven effective with this target market. Demand for educators and educational professionals is strong, with national shortages projected in several educational occupations. Yet the current operating environment–in which schools of education (SOEs) are competing against a multitude of providers to help fulfill state needs–is challenging, especially amidst an economic downturn. These challenges underscore the importance for SOEs to be in sync with the needs and preferences of students to implement effective marketing practices.

This brief explores five challenges to recruiting math and science teachers: teacher pay, lack of consideration of a career in teaching, lack of a comprehensive marketing strategy, different talent pools, and inconvenient preparation programs. To aid schools of education in facing these recruiting challenges, Eduventures shares successful strategies used by other institutions.

This report summarizes the results of a February 2009 national survey of more than 1,500 prospective adult students. The research focuses on the impact of the early 2009 economic environment on course/program selection and enrollment plans. In addition, the research analyzes factors and selection criteria that are prioritized when adult learners consider and seek information about courses, programs, and schools. The influence and credibility of information sources and marketing channels are also examined.

Drawing upon survey responses from more than 5,800 high school seniors as well as focus groups with 78 high school seniors nationwide, this report provides an introduction and overview of the college search process among prospective students by examining when prospective students begin their college search process and how the timing of their search differs by student segments. Among the issues examined in the report are popular tools and resources; the timing of initial interest and decision to apply; number of applications submitted and admissions received; and the timing of the decision to enroll.

This study provides updated estimates and forecasts of the size and shape of the U.S. online higher education market, answering the following questions: What is the current estimated size of the online higher education market, and how is this forecast to change over time? How is the online higher education market segmented by control, credential and field of study? What are the key dynamics of market development going forward?

How do prospective students use online search tools during their college search? Are there differences in use among student segments? This report draws upon survey responses from more than 5,800 high school seniors as well as focus groups with 78 high school seniors nationwide. Among the issues examined in the report are general usage of online search tools and perceived usefulness of specific online tools and web sites broken down by several student segments including, geographic region; annual household income; SAT score; and race/ethnicity.

How do institutions structure and organize their online distance learning units? How are online courses developed and how is tech support offered at institutions? How do institutions engage faculty in online degree programs? This report will help institutions understand how to provide continuity between online and face-to-face courses. It explores best practices for providing student services, developing course content, and engaging faculty who teach online or hybrid courses.

How do institutions successfully market their continuing education programming to alumni? Drawing on interviews with continuing education and alumni association staff at several institutions, this custom report identifies the best practices for alumni outreach that will maximize alumni participation in continuing education offerings - and improve alumni relations overall.

Diving into the data collected from an Eduventures survey of more than 4,100 current and prospective summer session students, this report identifies effective ways for institutions to advertise their summer sessions programs. The study explores trends in the criteria that different student demographic groups use to select a program, such as course offerings and school reputation, and notes their preferred sources of information for finding out about a program, including brochures, online catalogs, and school Web sites.

Using the data from Eduventures' survey of more than 4,100 current and prospective summer session students, this study helps institutions identify student segments and design effective advertising to attract those segments to their summer sessions programs. The report also explores students' motivations for enrolling in summer session - from reducing undergraduate course loads to improving performance in their jobs.

How should summer sessions units design and improve their Web sites to increase enrollment? Where should institutions advertise their summer sessions programs online? Based on findings from a survey of current and prospective summer sessions students, this report identifies the information that students want to find on an institution's Web site and the features that are most helpful to them in their summer session enrollment decision. In addition, the study sheds light on the online avenues that students use to find summer sessions Web sites.

To help one member institution identify its key competitors and understand how to differentiate itself effectively, Eduventures explored the competitive landscape of online non-credit certificate programs, both regionally and nationally. This report also examines the regional landscape of face-to-face non-credit certificate programs, competitive pricing, and opportunities for market entry. Through this research, Eduventures identifies the institution's competitive advantages and recommends strategies for leveraging those strengths in the market.

How can institutions best market to and serve high school students for summer sesssions programming? This report looks at the marketing strategies, program offerings, and student demographics of successful summer session units that are enrolling high school students. The research also identifies these units' challenges and offers guidance in addressing those issues.

This national survey of nearly 4,200 summer session students provides a deeper understanding of students’ and prospects’ purchasing criteria and course, program, and institutional preferences. This analysis will allow members to better understand the profile of their students and market segments, develop more relevant courses and programs, refine scheduling patterns, innovate and evolve delivery formats and structures, build more effective marketing, pricing, and positioning strategies, and assess student satisfaction and areas for operational improvement.

This report provides an in-depth and updated review of positioning and differentiation trends in the U.S. online higher education marketplace. It examines eight areas of positioning across 100 online active schools: awards and rankings; acceptance of credit transfer; financial aid; use of news sections and blogs; pricing; programmatic accreditation; status, experience, and size; and values.

How can summer sessions units effectively market within their institutions to raise awareness among faculty and students? What are the characteristics of successful cross-institutional collaboration in developing and promoting summer sessions programs? In this report, Eduventures draws on interviews with 12 institutions to share their summer sessions units' challenges, strategies, and solutions for success.

Which institutions have implemented collaborative graduate degree programs with international institutions? This report identifies the prevalence of international partnerships in the U.S., profiles the institutions that have implemented these partnerships, and provides best practices for establishing and structuring relationships with international institutions.

How can academic leaders use market information in their program development and decision-making processes? How should institutions use market data to launch new programs that will leverage their existing programmatic and brand strengths? This report provides guidelines for planning effective market research campaigns, examines the traditional program development value chain, and concludes with recommended criteria to consider when screening new programs.

This benchmarking survey focuses on college and university summer session operations. The analysis enables members to establish position (including size, growth) relative to peer institutions and cohorts, evaluate summer session “product portfolios” and audiences of focus, compare institutional summer sessions income and expenses, identify effective marketing and communication strategies to increase awareness and provide growth, assess the availability and structure of services for summer students, and develop a sense of trends and best practices at peer institutions.

This study explores how continuing and professional education units successfully approach the development, marketing, and delivery of contract and customized training. Founded on discussions with executives from more than 20 member institutions, the research will help members refine their contract and customized training program development process, marketing, operational strategies, and overall growth potential.

Where should schools of education focus their limited marketing budgets? Which marketing channels are most effective at reaching potential school of education students? Using survey data and interviews from member institutions, this report identifies how and where schools of education have had success with their marketing efforts and emphasizes the importance of partnerships for increasing enrollments.

Which student audiences comprise the current market for summer session programming? How do profiled institutions market to prospective target audiences? Eduventures staff analyzed key trends in targeting prospective students through an analysis of marketing messages targeted to different student audiences at profiled institutions. The report draws upon a competitive scan of the Web sites of 26 institutions, as well as interviews with three summer session directors. The report describes the institutional landscape of summer session programming, identifies the composition of the student audiences at the profiled institutions, details the program delivery formats and structures by student audience, and provides an analysis of general summer session marketing messages and marketing patterns by student audience.

How do non-profit organizations identify donors with a passion for their cause? And, how can development offices use these outreach methods effectively to find donors with a passion for the institution and its mission, rather than simply a personal affilitation. This report highlights innovative lead-generation practices in the non-profit sector, including online initiatives, events, and corporate partnerships.

Eduventures' research shows that prospective students use college Web sites at a much higher rate than any other information sources. Web sites also rank as the second most trusted source of information after campus visits among prospective students. Given the prominence the Web plays in college admissions and recruiting, Enrollment Management Learning Collaborative members are looking for consumer use and preferences data, as well as leading Web practices, which will inform their strategic Web marketing plans. This study looks at key Web content and design data from the consumer or user perspective. In addition, the study examines common staffing, budgeting, and outsourcing practices, with an eye toward identifying opportunities and pitfalls on which members can improve their operational management of the admissions site.

Increasingly, colleges and universities are devoting resources to recruiting first-generation students as well as students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. These students face unique barriers to college access and also differ from other groups in their patterns of information collection and decision-making. This study provides an in-depth view of the barriers low-SES and first-generation students face in attending college, while analyzing the ways that first-generation and low-SES students compare to other cohorts vis-à-vis admissions trends, key influencers, academic achievement and preparation, professional aspirations, information use and trust, as well as key value drivers. The report also provides recommendations for effective marketing practices that can be used to recruit these important student segments.

For online education providers with limited marketing budgets and staff or with hard-to-reach target audiences, online education directories (OEDs) may be too expensive and may not generate the appropriate leads. This custom report examines alternatives to OEDs, including blogs, search engine marketing, jobs and professional development sites such as Monster.com and HotJobs, and other general interest sites, and recommends which alternatives smaller and niche online institutions should pursue to get the most ROI for their marketing dollars.

This report provides insight on key drivers of educational value and the concept of educational ROI. Drawing upon survey responses from over 6,200 enrolling freshmen nationwide, the report highlights key enrollment drivers such as professional preparation, academic programs and affordability as well as drivers such as level of technology usage, community service opportunities, and ethnic diversity. The report then analyzes the data by student segment including ethnic background, academic caliber and socio-economic status and concludes by discussing the implications for marketing to specific student segments.

This is the final report in a series designed to assess the market landscape for certificate programs. This report draws upon data from national surveys of more than 1,800 certificate-seeking respondents and 731 education and training decision-makers at corporate and government employers. The research provides a roadmap for marketers and strategists to follow when positioning, marketing, and selling their certificate programs to employer audiences. Continuing and professional education units can use this report as part of their strategic planning process, to develop and refine marketing and sales strategies and tactics for certificate programs.

This is the second part of series designed to assess the market landscape for certificate programs so that continuing and professional education units can improve their development, positioning, and delivery of these types of credentials. This research component focuses on employer certificate program utilization, and curriculum and delivery preferences. Interviews were conducted with 731 education and training decision-makers at corporate and government employers, concerning their roles as purchasers and endorsers of certificate programs as a learning and development vehicle for employees. Although certificate programs represent a major area of investment and revenue for CPE members, prior to this study, relatively little research was available to identify emerging opportunities in the certificate market, or to test fundamental assumptions about the market value of certificate programs.

This is the first part of a series examining consumer and employer preferences for certificate programs. Data was analyzed from a national survey including more than 1,800 certificate-seeking respondents. This project focuses on the demographic and motivational profiles of certificate consumers, the disciplines and interdisciplinary areas where there is demand for certificates, and consumers’ perceived value of certificate-specific attributes (e.g., degree program articulation, professional association endorsement). Although certificate programs represent a major area of investment and revenue for CPE members, prior to this study, relatively little research was available to identify emerging opportunities in the certificate market, or to test fundamental assumptions about the market value of certificate programs.

Drawing on a survey of more than 2,000 qualified consumers, this report examines demand for online education and the projected growth of the online education industry. Online providers will gain insight into: levels of interest in online education; preferences in delivery mode; trusted information sources; perceptions of quality; perceptions of price and institution type; and general perceptions of higher education.

Providers of online higher education in the U.S. face three important trends: evidence of burgeoning enrollments and strong demand, evidence of increased numbers of providers entering the market and deeper institutional commitment, and a more educated consumer segment. This competitive and complex environment forces institutions to pay greater attention to positioning and differentiation. This study examines the websites of 16 providers of online higher education to determine ways in which online providers attempt to differentiate themselves from the competition and identify future lines of innovation.

This report highlights innovative marketing practices used by CPE-LC members and profiles specific practices across the marketing “value chain.” Activities profiled include: technology-enabled tracking of inquiry requests; redesigning marketing roles and workflow structures; improving inquiry management; implementing a customer-loyalty program; and using a multi-tiered approach for improving internet marketing. Each practice represents a solution to existing problems or inefficiencies in an institution’s continuing and professional education marketing operations and highlights the issues of change management, re-engineering marketing systems and structures, and continued process improvement.

How are higher education institutions using social networking to enhance the learning experience for adults? Eduventures interviewed officials at a number of institutions and technology companies and conducted secondary research to complete this study, which explored how social networking technology is being used in the areas of career services, student academic support, academic advising, course instruction, student academic networking, faculty engagement with students, and retention. This research also examines the types of tools that institutions are using and the costs and benefits of buying existing technology versus developing a home-grown system.

Drawing on interviews with 12 prominent online/distance education units at public universities, this report examined funding models for developing distance learning programs, answering the following questions: How is tuition charged for online/distance education at public universities handled differently from on-ground tuition? How is tuition from online/distance programs disbursed within public institutions once it is collected? What incentives are offered to colleges/departments to offer their programs through online/distance education venues?

An online higher education provider wanted to revise its cost structure to one that is both more attractive to students and more effective in recouping program costs and increasing revenues. The Online Higher Education Learning Collaborative conducted this research to identify best practices for pricing employed by the provider's peer and competitor institutions. The report also explores the strengths and weaknesses of various pricing schedules based on discipline area and program level as opposed to pricing charged on a per-credit basis.

What are colleges and universities doing to raise awareness of appropriate academic behavior among students? Do online learning environments and face-to-face settings require different practices for promoting honesty? What, if anything, are schools doing to comply with the student identity authentication provision in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008? Online Higher Education Learning Collaborative staff examined these questions through surveys, telephone interviews, and secondary research, drawing on the insights of institutions and accreditation bodies to identify best practices.

A 15-institution consortium for online learning seeking to reduce its reliance on state appropriations wanted to understand how online schools and consortia fund their operations. In particular, the consortium asked Eduventures to identify alternative revenue-generation approaches that go beyond dues collection and membership fees. To address these issues, Online Higher Education Learning Collaborative analysts conducted interviews with directors and budget officers at online schools and consortia located throughout the United States.

Estimating the size of the U.S. online K-12 market is challenging because of differing reporting standards among states, different definitions of online learning, ambiguity in defining student status (full-time vs. part-time), and varying reporting requirements between public and private schools. Despite these difficulties, Online Higher Education Learning Collaborative (OHE-LC) staff members gathered data from various sources, including previous Eduventures research, the Sloan-C Consortium, the National Center for Education Statistics, Evergreen Consulting Associates, the North American Council for Online Learning, the Center for Education Reform, and investment analyst groups to estimate the number of students currently enrolled in online K-12 schools and the growth rate of the national market. Specifically, this study determines how the domestic virtual K-12 market is likely to grow in terms of size, specific academic disciplines, grade levels, and demographic categories.

This study provides updated estimates and forecasts of the size and shape of the U.S. online higher education market, answering the following questions: What is the current estimated size of the online higher education market, and how is this forecast to change over time? How is the online higher education market segmented by control, credential and field of study? What are the key dynamics of market development going forward?

Online programming is becoming a staple in higher education. A previous Eduventures analysis suggests that the majority of U.S. schools of education offer online courses. As schools seek to expand online courses and program offerings and to ensure their current offerings are of high teaching and learning standards, this investigation provides insight on what constitutes quality online programming and what are common practices at Schools of Education Learning Collaborative (SOE-LC) member institutions. The results of this investigation are intended to generate ideas and dialogue for member institutions, particularly around faculty supports and pedagogical tools.

How do institutions structure and organize their online distance learning units? How are online courses developed and how is tech support offered at institutions? How do institutions engage faculty in online degree programs? This report will help institutions understand how to provide continuity between online and face-to-face courses. It explores best practices for providing student services, developing course content, and engaging faculty who teach online or hybrid courses.

Through this look at Eduventures' data from more than 4,100 current and prospective summer session students, institutions can determine how best to develop and market their online, hybrid, and accelerated format summer sessions offerings. The report identifies the demographic characteristics typical of students currently enrolled in online, hybrid, accelerated summer sessions programming and shows how these are three very distinct demographic groups with different needs and preferences. Institutions can use the findings about these student audiences' motivations for enrolling, subject area preferences, and future plans for enrolling in alternative delivery formats to tailor their marketing strategies and increase enrollments.

To help one member institution identify its key competitors and understand how to differentiate itself effectively, Eduventures explored the competitive landscape of online non-credit certificate programs, both regionally and nationally. This report also examines the regional landscape of face-to-face non-credit certificate programs, competitive pricing, and opportunities for market entry. Through this research, Eduventures identifies the institution's competitive advantages and recommends strategies for leveraging those strengths in the market.

This national survey of nearly 4,200 summer session students provides a deeper understanding of students’ and prospects’ purchasing criteria and course, program, and institutional preferences. This analysis will allow members to better understand the profile of their students and market segments, develop more relevant courses and programs, refine scheduling patterns, innovate and evolve delivery formats and structures, build more effective marketing, pricing, and positioning strategies, and assess student satisfaction and areas for operational improvement.

This report provides an in-depth and updated review of positioning and differentiation trends in the U.S. online higher education marketplace. It examines eight areas of positioning across 100 online active schools: awards and rankings; acceptance of credit transfer; financial aid; use of news sections and blogs; pricing; programmatic accreditation; status, experience, and size; and values.

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs and Eduventures’ estimates, more than 1.5 million veterans were eligible to receive education benefits in 2006 (the last year for which data is available), but less than 25% of those veterans tapped government funding resources for postsecondary education. With the total eligible pool expected to grow to nearly 3.3 million by 2016, Eduventures investigated the reasons why some military veterans elect to use their VA education benefits to pursue postsecondary education while others do not. This report explores current military members' and veterans' study motivations, career aspirations, and study preferences. Data collected from this study will help online providers with their future enrollment goals and growth strategy, as well as marketing and recruitment campaigns aimed at this population.

Why do students enroll in hybrid and online programs? Which subject areas are most in demand for online delivery? In this custom report, Eduventures worked with one member institution to answer these questions and to understand the perceptions held by students interested in hybrid or online courses, the support services students want offered for online programming, and the factors associated with selecting online or hybrid programs. In addition, Eduventures profiled the competitive landscape of online or hybrid providers.

Supporting the needs of fully online students poses unique challenges from supporting other adult learners. This report examines best practices for structuring support services for online students, answering: What services should continuing education units offer? Should support services be centralized or decentralized? How do other institutions use CRM software in supporting their students? The solutions presented will assist institutions in addressing the issue of online student retention. and addresses the issue of online student retention.

Conducted for a member institution that was seeking information on several trends in higher education, this report profiles the major service providers serving online higher education, including outsourcing, IT, customer service, and lead-generation services. The study also explores faculty networks for online higher education providers and provides insight into how common it is for faculty members to teach online courses on contract for a variety of institutions simultaneously. Finally, Eduventures reports on the number of institutions that are currently offering online degrees in the United States.

Which types of emerging instructional technology are most in demand among online higher education students? Which instructional technologies are most effective in online learning? The Online Higher Education Learning Collaborative explored these issues through literature scans, cross-tabulations of Eduventures data sets, and secondary scans of existing Eduventures research. Institutions can use the findings to inform their future program development, to select specific instructional technologies, and to ensure they are offering a high-quality online learning environment.

To examine online student retention and completion benchmarks and best practices, Eduventures gathered the largest known (to date) cross-institutional online higher education retention and completion dataset, encompassing 20 programs at 20 schools, with data representing more than 80,000 online students. The report, which includes retention and completion numbers, student and program characteristics, and descriptions of pedagogy and student support arrangements, offers a wealth of insights into possible causes and effects of online retention and completion.

This report is the first of a two-part study examining online student retention and completion benchmarks and best practices. The study provides a conceptual model of online student retention and completion; an overview of existing statistical data on online student retention in the context of general higher education retention and completion data; and a synthesis of the existing literature on online student retention and completion issues.

Universities interested in exploring the online MBA market in China can use this report to understand the Chinese market, where it's going, and best practices for market entry. For this study, Eduventures reviewed governmental, non-governmental, and institutional Web sites - both within and outside of China - to piece together the characteristics of the contemporary Chinese online MBA market, and to situate that market within the broader MBA market. Our online higher education analysts also interviewed representatives of four foreign providers currently serving the Chinese market in conducting this research.

For online education providers with limited marketing budgets and staff or with hard-to-reach target audiences, online education directories (OEDs) may be too expensive and may not generate the appropriate leads. This custom report examines alternatives to OEDs, including blogs, search engine marketing, jobs and professional development sites such as Monster.com and HotJobs, and other general interest sites, and recommends which alternatives smaller and niche online institutions should pursue to get the most ROI for their marketing dollars.

Drawing on a survey of more than 2,000 qualified consumers, this report examines demand for online education and the projected growth of the online education industry. Online providers will gain insight into: levels of interest in online education; preferences in delivery mode; trusted information sources; perceptions of quality; perceptions of price and institution type; and general perceptions of higher education.

The rapidly increasing demand for online courses and degree programs (whether fully online or hybrid) has been the principal driver of enrollment growth in continuing education. As student demand grows and the online education market matures, it is more important than ever for CPE members to understand what models and practices for developing, delivering, and supporting online continuing education offerings are successful in the marketplace. This study provides a unique, up-to-date perspective on trends, structures, and costs in online continuing education. In addition to addressing the main themes of organizational models and benchmarks, this investigation yields basic descriptive statistics on CPE members’ online continuing education offerings – characterizing the scale of their online enrollments, providing forecasted growth rates, and assessing the scope of online course offerings by online delivery mode (e.g., synchronous/asynchronous, hybrid/100% online).

Providers of online higher education in the U.S. face three important trends: evidence of burgeoning enrollments and strong demand, evidence of increased numbers of providers entering the market and deeper institutional commitment, and a more educated consumer segment. This competitive and complex environment forces institutions to pay greater attention to positioning and differentiation. This study examines the websites of 16 providers of online higher education to determine ways in which online providers attempt to differentiate themselves from the competition and identify future lines of innovation.

This research brief examines the roles that schools of education deans, directors of development, and faculty can play in fundraising and details effective practices for improving performance in annual fundraising, foundation and corporate giving, and major and principal gift fundraising.

Drawing on data from a survey of more than 600 educators, this report explores ways in which schools of education can strategically identify, design, and advertise attractive market opportunities to increase enrollments and meet demand for summer session programming among educators. The study profiles a typical summer session education student, including their motivations and preferences in areas such as delivery format and subject areas, and provides suggestions for effectively marketing summer session programming to educators.

Building off of Eduventures' foundational work in this area, this study examines how more individualized and realistic goals can improve gift officer performance. Along with a complete set of refreshed benchmarks for gift officer goals and outcomes for FY09, this report provides five key recommendations to increase the success of gift officers during this difficult period, including using a more individualized approach to creating metrics, developing new metrics based on portfolio composition and prospect stages, and setting attainable visit and solicitation goals.

An online higher education provider wanted to revise its cost structure to one that is both more attractive to students and more effective in recouping program costs and increasing revenues. The Online Higher Education Learning Collaborative conducted this research to identify best practices for pricing employed by the provider's peer and competitor institutions. The report also explores the strengths and weaknesses of various pricing schedules based on discipline area and program level as opposed to pricing charged on a per-credit basis.

This brief explores five challenges to recruiting math and science teachers: teacher pay, lack of consideration of a career in teaching, lack of a comprehensive marketing strategy, different talent pools, and inconvenient preparation programs. To aid schools of education in facing these recruiting challenges, Eduventures shares successful strategies used by other institutions.

What are colleges and universities doing to raise awareness of appropriate academic behavior among students? Do online learning environments and face-to-face settings require different practices for promoting honesty? What, if anything, are schools doing to comply with the student identity authentication provision in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008? Online Higher Education Learning Collaborative staff examined these questions through surveys, telephone interviews, and secondary research, drawing on the insights of institutions and accreditation bodies to identify best practices.

In a competitive market for development professionals, creating an attractive salary structure based on the knowledge of compensation benchmarks is critical to the recruitment and retention of employees. This benchmarking study is based on a survey of 25 institutions, which included an extensive quantitative and qualitative questionnaire about 18 detailed development positions. Additional comparisons are offered based on geographic region, levels of responsibility, institutional control, and campus setting.

What impact are institutions seeing from the economic environment? What information and criteria should institutions consider to efficiently and effectively allocate financial resources for academic programs? What are the most important and reportable criteria with which to benchmark program operating costs (i.e., revenue, instruction-related costs, operations-related costs, public service-related costs, etc.) to help with decision-making? Eduventures addresses these questions in this report and provides short- and long-term action plans for higher education leaders to use during challenging financial times.

This report provides an overview of institutional investments and practices related to faculty development at member institutions based on interviews and benchmark data collected from members over the course of late fall and winter of 2008. The key objectives of this investigation are to help institutions identify cost-effective and high impact forms of faculty orientation and development and to illustrate innovations occurring at institutions to create an engaged, high-quality, and committed faculty. Examples of organizational models, investments, and effective practices for faculty orientation and development are reviewed.

This report reviews the results of a primary research investigation of the faculty orientation and development needs of full-time faculty at member institutions. The key objectives of this report are to cross reference the faculty orientation and development tasks that are offered by institutions to those that are preferred by faculty members, in terms of making them feel well-prepared and supported. In addition, this yields information about the perceived unmet needs that faculty have in the area of professional development that can be used to make changes in your programs. Differences in perception by faculty type – by years of service, time in career, gender and ethnic group – are considered where the number of respondents enables meaningful differences to be identified.

Drawing on surveys and interviews with Vice Presidents of Student Affairs from 11 institutions, this report provides key benchmarking data for student affairs divisions. The study examines student affairs' budgets, staffing models, student fee structures, housing capacity, and characteristics of common courses for first-year students. It also explores the functions that fall under the student affairs umbrella.

How do prospective students use online search tools during their college search? Are there differences in use among student segments? This report draws upon survey responses from more than 5,800 high school seniors as well as focus groups with 78 high school seniors nationwide. Among the issues examined in the report are general usage of online search tools and perceived usefulness of specific online tools and web sites broken down by several student segments including, geographic region; annual household income; SAT score; and race/ethnicity.

How do institutions structure and organize their online distance learning units? How are online courses developed and how is tech support offered at institutions? How do institutions engage faculty in online degree programs? This report will help institutions understand how to provide continuity between online and face-to-face courses. It explores best practices for providing student services, developing course content, and engaging faculty who teach online or hybrid courses.

This report provides national and peer-level operational benchmark data for use in business/strategic planning, program development, and forecasting, with a focus on analyzing the relationship between continuing and professional education units’ organizational structures, institutional characteristics, and program portfolios. The data may be used to identify peer groups and trends in program growth rates, and characterize the scope and diversity of program portfolios and customer segments.

Transitioning from a commuter institution to a more residential one affects many services and groups on campus, not just students. This report provides colleges and universities with best practices and lessons learned from other institutions that have made this transition, including recommendations on who to include in the planning process and on how to measure success. The study also explores how increasing residential capacity affects student life.

This study provides a taxonomy of existing types of P-12 partnerships in place at schools of education, ranging from the most common types of partnerships – P-12 placement programs for student teachers – to the more complex and sophisticated partnerships – for example, control of a school or school district in its entirety. Characteristics (i.e., control, size, purpose) and examples of types of partnership programs included in this taxonomy are examined, as well as the motivations and drivers for the creation of types of partnerships.

Many universities are moving away from multiculturalism toward an active embrace of cultural differences, recognizing that students from different ethnic and cultural traditions may need unique patterns of programming and support to realize their full potential. This study investigated participation in co-curricular programming by students from different ethnic backgrounds and the association between patterns of participation and outcomes of student satisfaction and academic performance. The findings of this report will help student affairs professionals determine whether minority student populations would benefit from targeted programming or from involvement in particular activities on and off campus. The report also identifies areas of concern for each minority population that may deserve special attention on some campuses.

What organizational models and staff structures are institutions using for effective principal gifts operations? What are the gift officer roles and portfolio distributions for principal gifts operations? As part of a series of benchmark and practices reports on principal gifts operations, this report provides insight into how seven institutions of varying size and performance staff and structure principal gifts operations. Among the report’s key findings is that institutions most often use a balanced model for principal gifts operations, which usually includes a formal department with dedicated frontline staff (an average of 2.3 FTE) and frontline staff distributed across the institution managing principal gifts prospects.

Identifying key trends and best practices in the internationalization of U.S. campuses, this report helps institutions understand the implications of internationalization and the trends in demand among international and study abroad students. Importantly, this study also identifies key challenges and barriers to internationalization - and the right strategies for addressing them.

How can academic leaders improve student retention? Which student populations are most at risk? The report provides a profile of at-risk student populations, examines factors driving retention and attrition, and outlines strategies both for managing retention and for increasing students' educational return on investment.

How can academic leaders use market information in their program development and decision-making processes? How should institutions use market data to launch new programs that will leverage their existing programmatic and brand strengths? This report provides guidelines for planning effective market research campaigns, examines the traditional program development value chain, and concludes with recommended criteria to consider when screening new programs.

How can schools improve the return on the financial investment in higher education and prepare students for the workplace? This report highlights the importance of educating students early on about financial aid planning and the ways in which institutions can help ease students' financial burden. Institutions can use this information to consider their financial aid processes and career preparation support services.

This benchmarking survey focuses on college and university summer session operations. The analysis enables members to establish position (including size, growth) relative to peer institutions and cohorts, evaluate summer session “product portfolios” and audiences of focus, compare institutional summer sessions income and expenses, identify effective marketing and communication strategies to increase awareness and provide growth, assess the availability and structure of services for summer students, and develop a sense of trends and best practices at peer institutions.

Working in partnership with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), this report analyzes existing data in the Professional Education Data System (PEDS) and examines common characteristics and benchmarks for schools of education. Specifically, this research provides an overview of trends related to serving students (the production of graduates from education programs, education program enrollments, and program completions); recruiting and retaining faculty (faculty counts, faculty characteristics, and teaching loads); and streamlining operations (acquisition of research funding, financial metrics, selected operating ratios, and use of online education). In addition, the report segments and analyzes institutions based on key features such as research focus, service to the state, undergraduate or graduate focus, part-time focus, and other institutional characteristics.

Capacity screenings - and the data they reveal about alumni and friends' potential to make significant philanthropic contributions - are critical resources for an institution's development office. Because screenings can require a sizeable investment of time and money, development leaders should use this report as a resource when weighing capacity screening options and selecting a service provider.

Supporting the needs of fully online students poses unique challenges from supporting other adult learners. This report examines best practices for structuring support services for online students, answering: What services should continuing education units offer? Should support services be centralized or decentralized? How do other institutions use CRM software in supporting their students? The solutions presented will assist institutions in addressing the issue of online student retention. and addresses the issue of online student retention.

This study reviews state and federal policies that impact schools of education, school of education characteristics, and outcomes measures in use or being developed – all with the purpose of understanding the impact that the regulatory environment and institution characteristics have on student outcomes. The findings of this study will help schools of education understand how their state policy environment differs from other states, how their program offerings, faculty, and students fit into the national context, and to identify innovative outcomes measures, assessments, and processes.

What are the in-demand subjects and credentials for continuing and professional students who are interested in enrolling in summer session programming? What are the delivery format preferences of adult students interested in summer session opportunities? What key differences exist between continuing education students who are very likely to enroll in summer session programming compared to those who are not likely to enroll? Drawing on a survey of 26,000 currently enrolled and prospective adult learners, Eduventures staff analyzed characteristics, key subjects and credentials in demand, formatting and delivering preferences, as well as motivations of continuing education students based on their interest in summer session programming.

This study explores how continuing and professional education units successfully approach the development, marketing, and delivery of contract and customized training. Founded on discussions with executives from more than 20 member institutions, the research will help members refine their contract and customized training program development process, marketing, operational strategies, and overall growth potential.

Which notable institutions offer innovative summer session programs? What are the key components, differentiating factors, and potential challenges and benefits of offering these innovative summer session programs? This report draws upon a competitive scan of 45 institutions and interviews with three summer session directors to identify and analyze innovative summer session programming. The report describes the institutional landscape of summer session programming, identifies innovative summer session programming by student audience, reviews and assesses innovative summer session programming by program content, scans programming by delivery modality and structure, and analyzes innovative summer session marketing messages and marketing patterns by program.

Eduventures' research shows that prospective students use college Web sites at a much higher rate than any other information sources. Web sites also rank as the second most trusted source of information after campus visits among prospective students. Given the prominence the Web plays in college admissions and recruiting, Enrollment Management Learning Collaborative members are looking for consumer use and preferences data, as well as leading Web practices, which will inform their strategic Web marketing plans. This study looks at key Web content and design data from the consumer or user perspective. In addition, the study examines common staffing, budgeting, and outsourcing practices, with an eye toward identifying opportunities and pitfalls on which members can improve their operational management of the admissions site.

To examine online student retention and completion benchmarks and best practices, Eduventures gathered the largest known (to date) cross-institutional online higher education retention and completion dataset, encompassing 20 programs at 20 schools, with data representing more than 80,000 online students. The report, which includes retention and completion numbers, student and program characteristics, and descriptions of pedagogy and student support arrangements, offers a wealth of insights into possible causes and effects of online retention and completion.

Through data collected from member institutions on the performance outcomes of nearly 1,000 individual gift officers and a benchmarking survey of institutional performance measurement practices, this report uses empirical evidence to help member institutions set appropriate performance goals and prioritize metrics when managing development officers.

This report is the first of a two-part study examining online student retention and completion benchmarks and best practices. The study provides a conceptual model of online student retention and completion; an overview of existing statistical data on online student retention in the context of general higher education retention and completion data; and a synthesis of the existing literature on online student retention and completion issues.

Which software systems are institutions successfully using to perform key SIS functions? Which systems are best suited for facilitating the exchange of information across multiple institutions? This custom report assists institutions in evaluating student information systems and in making the build or buy decision by profiling the experiences of other institutions, including those that are part of online consortia.

University development organizations face the challenge of scaling to meet demands for ever-larger fundraising campaigns while recruiting and retaining talented staff in a tight labor market for fundraising professionals. Being able to identify, develop, and manage high-performing gift officers effectively has become a critical component of success. This report is based on data collected from more than 50 member institutions on individual gift officer performance outcomes and a survey of over 600 gift officers around individual and organizational attributes that support their productivity. This study provides a framework for understanding the factors that have the greatest impact on gift officer performance in order to help development organizations target their recruitment and professional development investments.

The rapidly increasing demand for online courses and degree programs (whether fully online or hybrid) has been the principal driver of enrollment growth in continuing education. As student demand grows and the online education market matures, it is more important than ever for CPE members to understand what models and practices for developing, delivering, and supporting online continuing education offerings are successful in the marketplace. This study provides a unique, up-to-date perspective on trends, structures, and costs in online continuing education. In addition to addressing the main themes of organizational models and benchmarks, this investigation yields basic descriptive statistics on CPE members’ online continuing education offerings – characterizing the scale of their online enrollments, providing forecasted growth rates, and assessing the scope of online course offerings by online delivery mode (e.g., synchronous/asynchronous, hybrid/100% online).

Drawing on data from a survey of more than 600 educators, this report explores ways in which schools of education can strategically identify, design, and advertise attractive market opportunities to increase enrollments and meet demand for summer session programming among educators. The study profiles a typical summer session education student, including their motivations and preferences in areas such as delivery format and subject areas, and provides suggestions for effectively marketing summer session programming to educators.

Incorporating results from two surveys of current and prospective adult learners, as well as the results of a benchmarking study of schools of education marketing activities, this report examines the motivations and delivery preferences of adult learners interested in education programming and the advertising messages and marketing channels that have proven effective with this target market. Demand for educators and educational professionals is strong, with national shortages projected in several educational occupations. Yet the current operating environment–in which schools of education (SOEs) are competing against a multitude of providers to help fulfill state needs–is challenging, especially amidst an economic downturn. These challenges underscore the importance for SOEs to be in sync with the needs and preferences of students to implement effective marketing practices.

This report provides national and peer-level operational benchmark data for use in business/strategic planning, program development, and forecasting, with a focus on analyzing the relationship between continuing and professional education units’ organizational structures, institutional characteristics, and program portfolios. The data may be used to identify peer groups and trends in program growth rates, and characterize the scope and diversity of program portfolios and customer segments.

Through this look at Eduventures' data from more than 4,100 current and prospective summer session students, institutions can determine how best to develop and market their online, hybrid, and accelerated format summer sessions offerings. The report identifies the demographic characteristics typical of students currently enrolled in online, hybrid, accelerated summer sessions programming and shows how these are three very distinct demographic groups with different needs and preferences. Institutions can use the findings about these student audiences' motivations for enrolling, subject area preferences, and future plans for enrolling in alternative delivery formats to tailor their marketing strategies and increase enrollments.

How can institutions best market to and serve high school students for summer sesssions programming? This report looks at the marketing strategies, program offerings, and student demographics of successful summer session units that are enrolling high school students. The research also identifies these units' challenges and offers guidance in addressing those issues.

Which institutions have implemented collaborative graduate degree programs with international institutions? This report identifies the prevalence of international partnerships in the U.S., profiles the institutions that have implemented these partnerships, and provides best practices for establishing and structuring relationships with international institutions.

Sharing experiences and insights from institutions across the United States, this report examines the challenges that summer session units face in making sure that students receive the services they need, including housing, employment, on- and off-campus activities, and library hours. The study also provides recommendations for measuring student satisfaction in these areas and looks at the growing trend of offering more summer sessions programs online.

How can academic leaders use market information in their program development and decision-making processes? How should institutions use market data to launch new programs that will leverage their existing programmatic and brand strengths? This report provides guidelines for planning effective market research campaigns, examines the traditional program development value chain, and concludes with recommended criteria to consider when screening new programs.

Drawing on surveys and interviews with 15 institutions, this report provides best practices for developing new summer sessions programs. Institutions can use this research to benchmark their own summer sessions unit practices, to identify the most effective strategic planning processes, and to understand how to get faculty involved in new program development and how to fund it.

What are the in-demand subjects and credentials for continuing and professional students who are interested in enrolling in summer session programming? What are the delivery format preferences of adult students interested in summer session opportunities? What key differences exist between continuing education students who are very likely to enroll in summer session programming compared to those who are not likely to enroll? Drawing on a survey of 26,000 currently enrolled and prospective adult learners, Eduventures staff analyzed characteristics, key subjects and credentials in demand, formatting and delivering preferences, as well as motivations of continuing education students based on their interest in summer session programming.

This study explores how continuing and professional education units successfully approach the development, marketing, and delivery of contract and customized training. Founded on discussions with executives from more than 20 member institutions, the research will help members refine their contract and customized training program development process, marketing, operational strategies, and overall growth potential.

Which student audiences comprise the current market for summer session programming? How do profiled institutions market to prospective target audiences? Eduventures staff analyzed key trends in targeting prospective students through an analysis of marketing messages targeted to different student audiences at profiled institutions. The report draws upon a competitive scan of the Web sites of 26 institutions, as well as interviews with three summer session directors. The report describes the institutional landscape of summer session programming, identifies the composition of the student audiences at the profiled institutions, details the program delivery formats and structures by student audience, and provides an analysis of general summer session marketing messages and marketing patterns by student audience.

Which notable institutions offer innovative summer session programs? What are the key components, differentiating factors, and potential challenges and benefits of offering these innovative summer session programs? This report draws upon a competitive scan of 45 institutions and interviews with three summer session directors to identify and analyze innovative summer session programming. The report describes the institutional landscape of summer session programming, identifies innovative summer session programming by student audience, reviews and assesses innovative summer session programming by program content, scans programming by delivery modality and structure, and analyzes innovative summer session marketing messages and marketing patterns by program.

This is the second part of series designed to assess the market landscape for certificate programs so that continuing and professional education units can improve their development, positioning, and delivery of these types of credentials. This research component focuses on employer certificate program utilization, and curriculum and delivery preferences. Interviews were conducted with 731 education and training decision-makers at corporate and government employers, concerning their roles as purchasers and endorsers of certificate programs as a learning and development vehicle for employees. Although certificate programs represent a major area of investment and revenue for CPE members, prior to this study, relatively little research was available to identify emerging opportunities in the certificate market, or to test fundamental assumptions about the market value of certificate programs.

Eduventures reached out to superintendents and school of education deans to gather their insight and recommendations for how schools of education can help P-12 schools during a challenging economy. These leaders explored the roles that schools of education should play in affecting education policy, in helping cash-strapped schools and districts continue to offer their staff professional development opportunities, and in better preparing educators for the classroom.

Undergraduate programs are a significant part of some schools of education portfolios, yet nationally the number of bachelor degrees conferred in education is stagnant and even shrinking at some institutions. In today’s competitive landscape, schools of education have to be in sync with the needs of students and recognize that undergraduate education students require different marketing considerations than other majors. This report synthesizes data from several surveys to provide insight on improving the effectiveness of marketing efforts targeted to undergraduate education students. It profiles these students' characteristics, preferences, and their perceptions of the value of an education degree, and provides recommendations for improving the effectiveness of Web site marketing.

This research brief examines the roles that schools of education deans, directors of development, and faculty can play in fundraising and details effective practices for improving performance in annual fundraising, foundation and corporate giving, and major and principal gift fundraising.

Drawing on data from a survey of more than 600 educators, this report explores ways in which schools of education can strategically identify, design, and advertise attractive market opportunities to increase enrollments and meet demand for summer session programming among educators. The study profiles a typical summer session education student, including their motivations and preferences in areas such as delivery format and subject areas, and provides suggestions for effectively marketing summer session programming to educators.

Incorporating results from two surveys of current and prospective adult learners, as well as the results of a benchmarking study of schools of education marketing activities, this report examines the motivations and delivery preferences of adult learners interested in education programming and the advertising messages and marketing channels that have proven effective with this target market. Demand for educators and educational professionals is strong, with national shortages projected in several educational occupations. Yet the current operating environment–in which schools of education (SOEs) are competing against a multitude of providers to help fulfill state needs–is challenging, especially amidst an economic downturn. These challenges underscore the importance for SOEs to be in sync with the needs and preferences of students to implement effective marketing practices.

This brief explores five challenges to recruiting math and science teachers: teacher pay, lack of consideration of a career in teaching, lack of a comprehensive marketing strategy, different talent pools, and inconvenient preparation programs. To aid schools of education in facing these recruiting challenges, Eduventures shares successful strategies used by other institutions.

What impact are institutions seeing from the economic environment? What information and criteria should institutions consider to efficiently and effectively allocate financial resources for academic programs? What are the most important and reportable criteria with which to benchmark program operating costs (i.e., revenue, instruction-related costs, operations-related costs, public service-related costs, etc.) to help with decision-making? Eduventures addresses these questions in this report and provides short- and long-term action plans for higher education leaders to use during challenging financial times.

Online programming is becoming a staple in higher education. A previous Eduventures analysis suggests that the majority of U.S. schools of education offer online courses. As schools seek to expand online courses and program offerings and to ensure their current offerings are of high teaching and learning standards, this investigation provides insight on what constitutes quality online programming and what are common practices at Schools of Education Learning Collaborative (SOE-LC) member institutions. The results of this investigation are intended to generate ideas and dialogue for member institutions, particularly around faculty supports and pedagogical tools.

With educators representing 15% of all summer session enrollments, institutions need to understand the summer session preferences of this important group to market to them successfully. This report identifies a typical profile of these educators, as well as the most in-demand credentials, subject areas, scheduling, and delivery formats for the group. In addition, the study examines educators' cost preferences and the information sources they use most often to select a summer session program.

This study provides a taxonomy of existing types of P-12 partnerships in place at schools of education, ranging from the most common types of partnerships – P-12 placement programs for student teachers – to the more complex and sophisticated partnerships – for example, control of a school or school district in its entirety. Characteristics (i.e., control, size, purpose) and examples of types of partnership programs included in this taxonomy are examined, as well as the motivations and drivers for the creation of types of partnerships.

Working in partnership with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), this report analyzes existing data in the Professional Education Data System (PEDS) and examines common characteristics and benchmarks for schools of education. Specifically, this research provides an overview of trends related to serving students (the production of graduates from education programs, education program enrollments, and program completions); recruiting and retaining faculty (faculty counts, faculty characteristics, and teaching loads); and streamlining operations (acquisition of research funding, financial metrics, selected operating ratios, and use of online education). In addition, the report segments and analyzes institutions based on key features such as research focus, service to the state, undergraduate or graduate focus, part-time focus, and other institutional characteristics.

This study reviews state and federal policies that impact schools of education, school of education characteristics, and outcomes measures in use or being developed – all with the purpose of understanding the impact that the regulatory environment and institution characteristics have on student outcomes. The findings of this study will help schools of education understand how their state policy environment differs from other states, how their program offerings, faculty, and students fit into the national context, and to identify innovative outcomes measures, assessments, and processes.

Where should schools of education focus their limited marketing budgets? Which marketing channels are most effective at reaching potential school of education students? Using survey data and interviews from member institutions, this report identifies how and where schools of education have had success with their marketing efforts and emphasizes the importance of partnerships for increasing enrollments.

What metrics does U.S. News & World Report use to develop its "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008" rankings? What can schools of education do to affect their rankings? Eduventures offers concrete, successful strategies for improving both overall U.S. News & World Report rankings and peer and superintendent scores. The study also highlights the opportunity for schools of education deans to meet with U.S. News & World Report to refine the metrics used.

This brief explores five challenges to recruiting math and science teachers: teacher pay, lack of consideration of a career in teaching, lack of a comprehensive marketing strategy, different talent pools, and inconvenient preparation programs. To aid schools of education in facing these recruiting challenges, Eduventures shares successful strategies used by other institutions.

How do high-performing institutions identify students at academic risk? What kinds of early intervention efforts have had success in reaching these students? Eduventures presents case studies of six institutions that are outperforming their peers in their six-year graduation rates.

Many universities are moving away from multiculturalism toward an active embrace of cultural differences, recognizing that students from different ethnic and cultural traditions may need unique patterns of programming and support to realize their full potential. This study investigated participation in co-curricular programming by students from different ethnic backgrounds and the association between patterns of participation and outcomes of student satisfaction and academic performance. The findings of this report will help student affairs professionals determine whether minority student populations would benefit from targeted programming or from involvement in particular activities on and off campus. The report also identifies areas of concern for each minority population that may deserve special attention on some campuses.

Sharing experiences and insights from institutions across the United States, this report examines the challenges that summer session units face in making sure that students receive the services they need, including housing, employment, on- and off-campus activities, and library hours. The study also provides recommendations for measuring student satisfaction in these areas and looks at the growing trend of offering more summer sessions programs online.

How can academic leaders improve student retention? Which student populations are most at risk? The report provides a profile of at-risk student populations, examines factors driving retention and attrition, and outlines strategies both for managing retention and for increasing students' educational return on investment.

Working in partnership with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), this report analyzes existing data in the Professional Education Data System (PEDS) and examines common characteristics and benchmarks for schools of education. Specifically, this research provides an overview of trends related to serving students (the production of graduates from education programs, education program enrollments, and program completions); recruiting and retaining faculty (faculty counts, faculty characteristics, and teaching loads); and streamlining operations (acquisition of research funding, financial metrics, selected operating ratios, and use of online education). In addition, the report segments and analyzes institutions based on key features such as research focus, service to the state, undergraduate or graduate focus, part-time focus, and other institutional characteristics.

What are the in-demand subjects and credentials for continuing and professional students who are interested in enrolling in summer session programming? What are the delivery format preferences of adult students interested in summer session opportunities? What key differences exist between continuing education students who are very likely to enroll in summer session programming compared to those who are not likely to enroll? Drawing on a survey of 26,000 currently enrolled and prospective adult learners, Eduventures staff analyzed characteristics, key subjects and credentials in demand, formatting and delivering preferences, as well as motivations of continuing education students based on their interest in summer session programming.

Acknowledging that academic, social, and financial factors strongly affect student attrition, this report shares effective practices that institutions are using to help students with academic problems. From how to identify and predict which students will have academic issues to academic probation and reinstatement policies, the study provides important benchmarking research. The report also explores average retention and graduation rates for students experiencing academic difficulty.

A public university member was interested in conducting benchmarking research on freshman- and sophomore-year experience programs. This research will assist the university with developing its own program for sophomores, as well as examining freshman support programs. In particular, the sponsoring institution has established goals of “enhancing student satisfaction, persistence, and progress toward timely graduation,” and is interested in what other members in the collaborative have undertaken toward this effort. Key questions to be addressed in this research investigation include: Do other member institutions have a sophomore-year experience program? What are the program’s key components? How does it build upon the freshman-year experience program, if at all? How do other member institutions measure the success of their sophomore-year experience programs? Specifically, what are the key metrics utilized (e.g., feedback from student satisfaction surveys, retention rates)? What impact have sophomore-year experience programs had on outcome measures at member institutions, including sophomore retention and timely graduation?

Drawing on data from a survey of more than 600 educators, this report explores ways in which schools of education can strategically identify, design, and advertise attractive market opportunities to increase enrollments and meet demand for summer session programming among educators. The study profiles a typical summer session education student, including their motivations and preferences in areas such as delivery format and subject areas, and provides suggestions for effectively marketing summer session programming to educators.

Incorporating results from two surveys of current and prospective adult learners, as well as the results of a benchmarking study of schools of education marketing activities, this report examines the motivations and delivery preferences of adult learners interested in education programming and the advertising messages and marketing channels that have proven effective with this target market. Demand for educators and educational professionals is strong, with national shortages projected in several educational occupations. Yet the current operating environment–in which schools of education (SOEs) are competing against a multitude of providers to help fulfill state needs–is challenging, especially amidst an economic downturn. These challenges underscore the importance for SOEs to be in sync with the needs and preferences of students to implement effective marketing practices.

How do prospective students use online search tools during their college search? Are there differences in use among student segments? This report draws upon survey responses from more than 5,800 high school seniors as well as focus groups with 78 high school seniors nationwide. Among the issues examined in the report are general usage of online search tools and perceived usefulness of specific online tools and web sites broken down by several student segments including, geographic region; annual household income; SAT score; and race/ethnicity.

Developed for one of Eduventures' Continuing and Professional Education Learning Collaborative member institutions, this report examines the characteristics of students who chose not to apply to or enroll at the institution and the reasons behind their decisions. The study also explores students' perceptions of the institution's reputation. An excellent example of the type of custom research that Eduventures undertakes for its members, the report also serves as a guide for other institutions seeking to understand why students do not apply or enroll.

With educators representing 15% of all summer session enrollments, institutions need to understand the summer session preferences of this important group to market to them successfully. This report identifies a typical profile of these educators, as well as the most in-demand credentials, subject areas, scheduling, and delivery formats for the group. In addition, the study examines educators' cost preferences and the information sources they use most often to select a summer session program.

Diving into the data collected from an Eduventures survey of more than 4,100 current and prospective summer session students, this report identifies effective ways for institutions to advertise their summer sessions programs. The study explores trends in the criteria that different student demographic groups use to select a program, such as course offerings and school reputation, and notes their preferred sources of information for finding out about a program, including brochures, online catalogs, and school Web sites.

Using the data from Eduventures' survey of more than 4,100 current and prospective summer session students, this study helps institutions identify student segments and design effective advertising to attract those segments to their summer sessions programs. The report also explores students' motivations for enrolling in summer session - from reducing undergraduate course loads to improving performance in their jobs.

How should summer sessions units design and improve their Web sites to increase enrollment? Where should institutions advertise their summer sessions programs online? Based on findings from a survey of current and prospective summer sessions students, this report identifies the information that students want to find on an institution's Web site and the features that are most helpful to them in their summer session enrollment decision. In addition, the study sheds light on the online avenues that students use to find summer sessions Web sites.

Through this look at Eduventures' data from more than 4,100 current and prospective summer session students, institutions can determine how best to develop and market their online, hybrid, and accelerated format summer sessions offerings. The report identifies the demographic characteristics typical of students currently enrolled in online, hybrid, accelerated summer sessions programming and shows how these are three very distinct demographic groups with different needs and preferences. Institutions can use the findings about these student audiences' motivations for enrolling, subject area preferences, and future plans for enrolling in alternative delivery formats to tailor their marketing strategies and increase enrollments.

This national survey of nearly 4,200 summer session students provides a deeper understanding of students’ and prospects’ purchasing criteria and course, program, and institutional preferences. This analysis will allow members to better understand the profile of their students and market segments, develop more relevant courses and programs, refine scheduling patterns, innovate and evolve delivery formats and structures, build more effective marketing, pricing, and positioning strategies, and assess student satisfaction and areas for operational improvement.

Why do students enroll in hybrid and online programs? Which subject areas are most in demand for online delivery? In this custom report, Eduventures worked with one member institution to answer these questions and to understand the perceptions held by students interested in hybrid or online courses, the support services students want offered for online programming, and the factors associated with selecting online or hybrid programs. In addition, Eduventures profiled the competitive landscape of online or hybrid providers.

What are the in-demand subjects and credentials for continuing and professional students who are interested in enrolling in summer session programming? What are the delivery format preferences of adult students interested in summer session opportunities? What key differences exist between continuing education students who are very likely to enroll in summer session programming compared to those who are not likely to enroll? Drawing on a survey of 26,000 currently enrolled and prospective adult learners, Eduventures staff analyzed characteristics, key subjects and credentials in demand, formatting and delivering preferences, as well as motivations of continuing education students based on their interest in summer session programming.

Do online professional graduate-level programs appeal to graduates of liberal arts bachelor’s degree programs? What areas of study are most appealing? Eduventures surveyed an institution's current students, its alumni, and prospective consumers to understand the demand and preferences for online coursework from liberal arts graduates. The institution is considering offering discipline-specific programs to prepare graduates of bachelor’s-level liberal arts and sciences programs with the skills to make a successful transition into professional environments in the non-profit, business, and government sectors. This research helped the institution define and understand the target market and consumer preferences, which then helped it better plan for program development and marketing efforts.

Eduventures' research shows that prospective students use college Web sites at a much higher rate than any other information sources. Web sites also rank as the second most trusted source of information after campus visits among prospective students. Given the prominence the Web plays in college admissions and recruiting, Enrollment Management Learning Collaborative members are looking for consumer use and preferences data, as well as leading Web practices, which will inform their strategic Web marketing plans. This study looks at key Web content and design data from the consumer or user perspective. In addition, the study examines common staffing, budgeting, and outsourcing practices, with an eye toward identifying opportunities and pitfalls on which members can improve their operational management of the admissions site.

Increasingly, colleges and universities are devoting resources to recruiting first-generation students as well as students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. These students face unique barriers to college access and also differ from other groups in their patterns of information collection and decision-making. This study provides an in-depth view of the barriers low-SES and first-generation students face in attending college, while analyzing the ways that first-generation and low-SES students compare to other cohorts vis-à-vis admissions trends, key influencers, academic achievement and preparation, professional aspirations, information use and trust, as well as key value drivers. The report also provides recommendations for effective marketing practices that can be used to recruit these important student segments.

In a recent Eduventures survey, 12% of prospective students indicated that a faith-based affiliation was important or very important to them in determining whether they applied to a particular institution. This report profiles the characteristics of these students and explores the motivating factors behind their college application decisions.

This report provides insight on key drivers of educational value and the concept of educational ROI. Drawing upon survey responses from over 6,200 enrolling freshmen nationwide, the report highlights key enrollment drivers such as professional preparation, academic programs and affordability as well as drivers such as level of technology usage, community service opportunities, and ethnic diversity. The report then analyzes the data by student segment including ethnic background, academic caliber and socio-economic status and concludes by discussing the implications for marketing to specific student segments.

This is the second part of series designed to assess the market landscape for certificate programs so that continuing and professional education units can improve their development, positioning, and delivery of these types of credentials. This research component focuses on employer certificate program utilization, and curriculum and delivery preferences. Interviews were conducted with 731 education and training decision-makers at corporate and government employers, concerning their roles as purchasers and endorsers of certificate programs as a learning and development vehicle for employees. Although certificate programs represent a major area of investment and revenue for CPE members, prior to this study, relatively little research was available to identify emerging opportunities in the certificate market, or to test fundamental assumptions about the market value of certificate programs.

This is the first part of a series examining consumer and employer preferences for certificate programs. Data was analyzed from a national survey including more than 1,800 certificate-seeking respondents. This project focuses on the demographic and motivational profiles of certificate consumers, the disciplines and interdisciplinary areas where there is demand for certificates, and consumers’ perceived value of certificate-specific attributes (e.g., degree program articulation, professional association endorsement). Although certificate programs represent a major area of investment and revenue for CPE members, prior to this study, relatively little research was available to identify emerging opportunities in the certificate market, or to test fundamental assumptions about the market value of certificate programs.

Drawing on a survey of more than 2,000 qualified consumers, this report examines demand for online education and the projected growth of the online education industry. Online providers will gain insight into: levels of interest in online education; preferences in delivery mode; trusted information sources; perceptions of quality; perceptions of price and institution type; and general perceptions of higher education.