Developing an Effective
Program Needs Analysis
MICHAEL WHITE
DIRECTOR OF LEGAL AND REGULATORY
AFFAIRS, ABHES
MICHAEL SCHAFER
VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS,
CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION
How Many Times Have You Thought?
LET’S START A
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Nursing
Surg Tech
Radiography
Respiratory
Massage
Dental Hygiene
Anesthesia Tech
Sonography
PROGRAM!!!!!
Maybe the Thought Started With . . .
 It’s a HOT field
(We will fill classes easily!)
 I saw a great ad from one of my competitors
 The BLS said that it has been a big growth area
 My receptionist’s doctor said she needs more (fill in the
blank for the name of the program)
 It will look really good on our billboards
 It would support really great (high) tuition
 We have just enough room in the school to add this
program
Those Teasers should be a
STARTING PLACE
NOT SO FAST!
Have you really thought this
through?
Teasers should be a STARTING PLACE
 It’s a HOT field
(They’ll enroll by the droves!)
 I saw a great ad from one of my competitors
 The BLS said that it has been a big growth area
 My receptionist’s doctor said she needs more (fill in
the blank for the name of the program)
 It will look really good on our billboards
 It would support really great (high) tuition
 We have just enough room in the school to add this
program
What Can Happen if You Jump on these “Teasers?”
 It’s a HOT field
(They’ll enroll by the droves!)
 I saw a great ad from one of my competitors
 The BLS said that it has been a big growth area
 My receptionist’s doctor said she needs more (fill in
the blank for the name of the program)
 It will look really good on our billboards
 It would support really great (high) tuition
 We have just enough room in the school to add this
program
Those Teasers should be a STARTING PLACE
NOT SO FAST!
Have you really thought this
through?
Why Do A Needs Analysis?
1.
To meet ABHES requirements
2. To add successful programs to the institution’s
portfolio
Why Do A Needs Analysis?
 To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
1.
Why is this program being implemented? Include in
this response the specific employment demand
in the local geographic area and the means by
which this demand was determined.
Exhibit B, Summary of Market Survey, must be
completed as part of this response.
Why Do A Needs Analysis?
 To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
2. Is the same or similar program offered by
other institutions in your local area (i.e., 25mile radius)? Yes No
If yes, how was the need further justified?
Why Do A Needs Analysis?
 To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
3. What is the prospective student demand
relative to first-year enrollment?
Why Do A Needs Analysis?

To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
4. If applicable, identify the externship requirements for in this
program, as follows:
a. identify
1. length requirements (clock and/or credit hours)
2. person responsible for supervision and evaluation of students
3. person responsible for supervision and evaluation of externship
sites
b. identify the site arrangements made by
a. location
b. number of students at each location
Why Do A Needs Analysis?
 To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
9.(b) What will completion of the degree
program do for the graduate that a lesser
credential would not (e.g., job title and responsibilities,
salary, transferability of credit) and how was this
determined?
Why Do A Needs Analysis?

To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
10. Is a credential required for graduates to work in the field?
Yes No
If yes, identify the credential and requirements for attainment,
how prospective students are made aware of the requirements, and
how the institution has determined that the curriculum will teach
the students the necessary competencies required of the
examination.
Why Do A Needs Analysis?
 To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
11. Has the institution determined that while not required, a
credential is preferred for graduates to work in the field?
Yes
No
If yes, What is that credential(s)? How was the desire for this
credential determined?
Why Do A Needs Analysis?
 To meet ABHES’s requirements
New Program Application
“Respond to the following questions in narrative format:”
14.
(a) What is the total cost of tuition for the program?
(b) What is the approximate average salary a
graduate of this program can expect?
EXHIBIT B . . . “The following are minimum requirements
to be addressed relative to market demands:”
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Survey of potential employers: Provide summary of survey results including time
period and number of surveys.
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Externship availability: Provide signed contracts with externship sites.
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Advisory board: Provide list of representatives including name, organization,
address, and telephone number.
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Salaries: General surveys on projected salaries graduates might expect that includes
potential employers.
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Competition: Listing of other educational/training facilities, their programs and
student population that are located within a 10-mile radius of the campus.
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Summary: The summarized information evidences a compelling need for the
new program. Demonstration of the ability for the community to support this
program. A documented plan based on the results of the Market Survey that determines
the program’s future enrollment, the effectiveness of the curriculum, and necessary
future changes to address the needs of the local health care community.
HOW TO do A Needs Analysis
So . . . The New Program Application
tells you what you must do.
But . . .
HOW?
Essential Elements of the Needs Analysis
 Review the competition
 Review the geographic/data-based need for the program
 Understand the regulatory and accreditation requirements
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of the profession
Conduct Advisory Board discussion
Survey potential employers
Review salary surveys and other relevant outcome
information
Review the availability of clinical sites
Make a decision on projected program size
Review the competition
 Determine who else is in your market offering the same
program (Accreditors, State agencies, IPEDS). Even if the
data shows a future need, will the current area programs
continue to grow at a rate that will satisfy future demand?
 Do not forget to review what offerings are being presented
by the community college. More and more, community
colleges are direct competitors for our potential students
 Will the area support your institutional goals for new
programs and entry into new markets?
Research the geographic & data-based need for the program
 BLS Data: While valuable on a large scale, BLS data is
generally stale information given the large gap between
survey dates. Additionally, BLS data is not updated to
reflect changes in market conditions. For example, the
current recession has had a serious impact on job outlook,
while at the same time increasing enrollment at
postsecondary institutions that provide direct training
 Global Insights: Global Insights does provide critical
information, updated annually and generally a better
predictor, however the cost is prohibitive in many cases.
 IPEDS: IPEDS is a good resource to determine competition
and completions, but should be utilized as a tool and not a
definitive representation.
Understand the regulatory and accreditation requirements of
the profession
 Don’t make the mistake of not investigating programmatic
accreditation
 While most allied health professions remain unregulated,
in many fields hiring preference (and acceptance by clinical
affiliates) is directly influenced by programmatic
accreditation and the ability for graduates to sit for a
certification or registry examination
 Determine how long it takes to go through the
programmatic accreditation process
 Determine how programmatic accreditation will affect your
future staffing decisions
Conduct Advisory Board discussion
 The typical Advisory Board for allied health programs
includes, among others, representatives from the local
health care community. In the decision-making process, it
is strongly advised that an ad hoc program advisory board
is formed early in the process relying heavily on this group
 The members of the Board can provide current information
on the upcoming employment and clinical availability
 The Advisory Board membership should include active
professionals who have a good knowledge of current
salaries and employment characteristics
Survey potential employers
 Physically survey local potential employers on their future
hiring needs and trends. This cannot be underestimated
and the larger the number of responses, the better for
making decisions. Often you may want to outsource these
surveys to remove any potential bias from employers and to
keep your plans proprietary from your possible future
competition
 Find out what are the desirable training characteristics are
for future employment and extern candidates. These would
include length and depth of training, necessity of
programmatic accreditation, and overall educational
background of the students
Review salary surveys and other relevant outcome information
 This information is a necessary component and cannot rely only
upon BLS statistics
 Much of the information is anecdotal and should be viewed as
such. Employers will often state salaries that are smaller than the
real salary and practitioners sometimes inflate the salaries to
drive their own economic interests.
 In some fields, salary survey information from professional
organizations (i.e. SDMS, AST, ARRT)
 Valid salary information should give you the basis for setting
program price. As evidenced by the current national discussion,
there is an expectation that program cost is roughly aligned with
potential earnings (see the recent DOE Neg Reg discussions on
“gainful employment”)
Review the availability of clinical sites
 Much of this can be completed during the review of potential
employers, but in best practice, it is a separate exercise. For entry-level
programs (medical assistant, pharmacy tech, etc) where there is a fairly
constant employment stream, this can be a simple exercise
 In the arena of specialty programs (radiography, nursing, Sonography,
etc) this is one of the most critical decision points in moving forward
with a new program or campus location. Most of these programs
require a significant clinical component, often up to 40-49%, and a lack
of confirmed sites will cause huge future issues. It is a very dangerous
and risky proposition to move forward with this type of program under
the assumption that you will have the clinical sites when you actually
need them (the Field of Dreams approach)
 A reality of today’s clinical marketplace is the use of educational
contributions. Over the last several years, clinical affiliates have become
much more aggressive in their requirement that programs must make
some sort of payment or contribution in order to allow your students to
complete their externships at their site.
Make a decision on projected program size
 The previous topics should drive initial program size
projections. If the goal is to have a sustainable program, a
school is far better off opening slow and growing as the
community demand (employment outcomes) and clinical
availability is assessed through experience.
 If there is a programmatic accreditor involved, note that
many of them require a program to set enrollment caps.
The expectation is that you can demonstrate community
demand and clinical demand and justify the enrollment
number. However, once this number is set, you will likely
need to demonstrate that market conditions have changed
and that there is justification for increasing overall program
enrollment
Last Step
 When do I do it all again?