2023 Master Class Series

Learn How to Make Better Academic Program Decisions 

Masterclass Graphs coming out of book

Our Series has ended. You may sign up to request the recordings until May 27th.

New for 2023!

What are the best data sources, analyses, and decision-making processes for evaluating your academic program portfolio?   You will learn all of this in Gray’s Master Class series on best practices in program decision-making.  We will share innovations and insights Gray has developed through our extensive experience conducting program evaluations for colleges and universities.  This information will help your institution:
Improve the quality and increase the speed of program decisions

  1. Identify healthy new programs that can increase enrollment
  2. Determine which current programs have opportunities for further growth
  3. Identify struggling programs in poor markets that may need to be sunsetted
  4. Build consensus on program decisions among faculty and administrators
  5. Help you make sound economic program decisions and avoid expensive mistakes

We will identify the best data sources for evaluating student demand, employment opportunities, and competition in your markets.  We will share the underlying issues with the available data, including weaknesses in public sources (e.g., Google, IPEDS, and BLS) and challenges in paid subscription data. We will show how to calculate program and course economics down to the section level.

Master Class 1:  Overview of Academic Program Evaluation

Featuring Bob Atkins 
April 4 2023, 2-3 pm ET
From student demand to competition, employment opportunities to program economics, learn which data sources to use and how to use them.  Discover how to merge data with institutional knowledge and experience to optimize academic program decision-making.

Master Class 2:  Reaching Curricular Efficiency

Featuring Steve Probst
April 11 2023, 2-3 pm ET
Learn how to use instructional economics data to identify ways to reduce the total teaching workload, reduce the need to hire more faculty, make college more affordable, and minimize how budget cuts translate into higher workloads or inferior education.

Master Class 3:  Advanced Analytics

Featuring Zachary Paz, Peter Starrett, and Youssef Aljabi
April 18 2023, 2-3 pm ET
Learn how to use predictive analytics to model the impact of program decisions on your institution’s future.  Using demographic data and market trends, we will demonstrate how to project the size and growth of programs in a proposed portfolio.  Using predictive scenarios, we will show how to evaluate the effects of program decisions on your institution’s bottom line.

Master Class 4:  The Future of Academic Portfolio Evaluation and Management

Featuring Bob Atkins and guest
April 25 2023, 2-3 pm ET
Join us as we look at how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other new technologies provide more insight into what makes a successful academic program.  We will show how using these tools in academic program planning and management can benefit the institution. m

Sign Up to Gain Access to Gray's 2023 Master Class Series

Reads to Get You Ready

Masterclass Graphs coming out of book

Start, Stop, or Grow: A Master Class on Academic Program Evaluation and Management

Improve your institution’s academic program portfolio with Gray’s free Master Class series led by experienced higher-education decision-makers. This four-part series covers data analysis, AI and machine learning, program evaluation, and student success integration. Stay ahead of the competition and ensure success by evaluating programs based on mission, academics, markets, and margins.

What Are the Three Qualities of a Winning Academic Program?

Discover the unique blend of mission, market, and margins that makes a winning program. Take a deep dive into the exciting process of defining your mission, understanding student demand, and maximizing program economics. Join the journey towards creating academic programs that not only drive success for your students, but also leave a lasting impact on your institution and community.

How to Determine Alignment Between Jobs and Academic Programs

Explore the connection between academic programs and employment opportunities with this in-depth analysis of the crosswalk between degree and employment. Learn how to use this tool to align academic programs with the right employment opportunities and understand the limitations of commonly used data. This thought-provoking piece will challenge your perceptions and change the way you think about degrees, jobs, and wages.

Leadership Matters. Now More than Ever.

Explore the challenges facing higher education and discover the keys to successful leadership in this thought-provoking blog by Melissa Morriss-Olson. From truth-telling and truth-seeking to building relationships and taking bold action, learn how the best leaders are navigating the rapidly changing landscape of higher education and making a difference for their institutions and students.

How to Cut Through the Chaos and Define Your Institution’s Markets

Defining your markets is an important step in the program evaluation process, but it isn’t always a simple one. For some colleges, the definition of markets is more complex. The college might serve several markets. Regardless, it is important to correctly define the markets to be analyzed so that you can discover new opportunities for your institution and create a collaborative PES.

Have questions or just want to connect? Reach out to info@www.graydi.us/