The metrics used in the US to track students do not include adults and part-time students. This has led to the development of a massive data initiative--the Predictive Analytics Reporting (PAR) framework--that uses predictive analytics to trace the progress of all types of students in the system. This development has allowed actionable,…

When the global economic recession hit the world some 18 months ago, very few could predict the impact this would have on government spending on higher education. Higher education institutions in the United Kingdom face spending cuts. Notwithstanding, they are expected to deliver quality education with fewer resources. This article discusses…

This article describes a model that can be used to analyze student enrollment data and can give insights for improving retention of part-time students and refining institutional budgeting and planning efforts. Adult higher-education programs are often challenged in that part-time students take courses less reliably than full-time students. For…

Over the past year lifelong learning in universities has come under the spotlight of politicians, educationalists, journalists and adult learners. For some, the concern has been about countering the fall-out from changes in public funding and challenging the reduction in provision--and even closure--of university departments. A number of…

This article focuses on the model used at the University of Kansas Medical Center to reach graduate students in the School of Nursing. Like many students returning for graduate degrees, distance students are balancing the demands of professional positions, graduate studies, and family life. Topics addressed include: point-of-need assistance,…

Discusses two models of distance-education, group-based versus individual-based. Highlights include group-based distance education for full-time and part-time students; individual-based distance education with pre-prepared materials and without pre-prepared materials; and distance education management and research. (LRW)

The Quad-Cities Graduate Study Center in Rock Island, Illinois, a voluntary, publicly funded, academic consortium, is described. It was incorporated as an experimental project to determine if pooling institutional resources were academically, financially, and administratively possible. It is now a model of inter-institutional cooperation providing…

Describes a distance education project in Iceland to provide professional education to practicing teachers of pupils with special needs. The concepts of distance, decentralized, and flexible education are discussed. The curriculum model used as a framework for a contract between students and their educational institutions is examined. (Contains…

This report describes Ball State University's MBA/TV program in which the College of Business offers a structured series of telecourses making it easy for students to acquire a graduate business education (MBA) where they live and work. It utilizes a statewide educational communications system called the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication…

An admissions/enrollment model was developed using 5 years of data on undergraduate and graduate enrollment, admissions, budget and tuition revenues, and anticipated tuition costs. The model produced estimates of admissions and enrollment numbers required to meet projected increases in the institutional budget. Using a variation of the Markov…

The student traceback model is described and is used to demonstrate various concepts relative to institutional research methodology. The methodology of the problem-solving institutional researcher includes a wide spectrum of how-to's: how to anticipate issues in higher education and estimate their practical institutional impact; how to develop the…

Describes changes effected at the Community College of Philadelphia to enhance educational achievement and opportunity; e.g., an audit of the Associate in General Studies, curricular revisions to meet the needs of part-time students, institutional assessment efforts at program and course levels, and the development of a new remedial education…