Every university goes through an annual budgeting cycle. There are about as many budget processes as there are universities but they all have one thing in common: the need to take account of changes in enrolment, governmental support, and other external factors. This is not easy because each potential factor affects various parts of the […]
READ MOREImportant Note: All of the dollar amounts shown below have been changed to protect the data privacy of our client institutions. Benchmarking within the university sector is not new. It happens at nearly every level – between schools, faculties, peer group universities (private, public, research intensive, regional, etc), and even internationally. Although this blog is […]
READ MOREPrevious blogs examined how the Pilbara model helps identify programs for investment and disinvestment (#5) and illuminates the economic relationships between programs (degrees) and individual courses (subjects). Now we turn to “Program Review” – a deep dive into the specifics of particular programs. Traditional reviews look at a program’s curricular structure, the institution’s capacity (in […]
READ MOREThe following is a simple example of the type of data that is normally hidden, not purposefully, but rather because it’s simply not captured for easy reporting and analysis. This is from our demonstration model, so it consists of dummy data but is representative of how a university would actually operate. The Power BI report below […]
READ MOREA common issue faced by universities around the globe is improving the retention of existing students. How much should be invested in retaining students? At what point is more money being spent than is being gained by retaining the student? Retention is a hot topic and universities spend a lot of time and effort in […]
READ MOREUniversities are constantly jugging resources – research often brings the rankings and brand while teaching brings the bulk of the predictable revenue. Things will get tougher in Australia under a proposed new CGS funding regime that includes a 2.5% efficiency dividend (which will erode the base funding going forward) and the potential for 7.5% of […]
READ MOREIt is not uncommon for schools to receive pressure to address their low enrollment courses (units). They are told that they shouldn’t be running courses with fewer than, say, ten students in them. There is a myriad of reasons why any individual course should be maintained due to the academic benefits it brings to the […]
READ MOREWe want to provide a series of articles explaining how you can actually use the outputs of the models to manage your universities. This article was written by Michelle Brooke and looks at the Whale Chart for courses as a starting point for analysis. Every university will teach courses (subjects) that contribute positively to the […]
READ MOREThe Problem How can a university allocate its resources, and especially its unrestricted funds, to best serve the academic mission while ensuring financial sustainability? Academic and financial officers find resource allocation difficult and time consuming because universities are extremely complex and highly decentralized organizations, which are driven by mission-based values rather than a financial bottom […]
READ MOREBill Gates recently presented at the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Annual Meeting, where he spoke about America’s greatest asset being the Higher Education system. There were a number of key points that came out of his speech and Q&A session. Dramatic changes are coming to colleges, it’s no longer good […]
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