White Paper: Predictive Modeling
Improving student success in higher education with analytic technologies and practices.
Is college worth it? This fundamental question is shaking the core of higher education. In the US, the cry for greater accountability from higher education institutions has never been louder or more omnipresent.
Consider the following statistics from Next Generation Learning Challenges:
- Only 42 percent of young people who enroll in college complete a bachelor’s degree by the age of 26. Just 12 percent complete an associate’s degree.
- By 2018, 63 percent of all US jobs will require some sort of postsecondary education.
- In 2008, the average wage for adults 25 and older with a four-year degree was $60,954, compared to $33,618 for those with only a high school diploma and $24,686 for those with no high school diploma.
- Nearly 22 million new workers with postsecondary degrees will be needed by 2018, but it is estimated that the US higher education system will fall short of that number by three million graduates.
Degree awards, student job placements, and retention rates are receiving ever-increasing national attention, and demand for measurable progress toward meaningful goals is at an all-time high. Schools, eager to oblige, are shifting their focus to “student success” (see Jenzabar whitepaper “Achieving Meaningful Student Success”), and working to deliver the results required in a 21st century education. “Higher education has been holding itself accountable— at the institutional, system, and association levels—long before ‘accountability’ became a buzzword (Cowan, 2013).” The mandate has always been clear, but the methods must adapt to a constantly evolving global economy and shifting student demographics. That’s where predictive modeling comes in. Continue reading…