Fort Lewis College
Metrics that Matter
The FLC “Metrics that Matter” was developed by the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and
Assessment to enhance data used by FLC for the Presidential Evaluation. The original presidential
metrics were developed by Dr. Stephen Porch for the Board. Some of the metrics seemed more
applicable to large institutions, and some of the metrics seemed inadequate in the context of FLC’s
Strategic Plan. OIRPA reviewed the original metrics, and developed an alternative set.
Enrollment Metrics
Headcount Enrollment tracks the number of individuals enrolled at Fort Lewis College. FLC typically
enrolls students on a full, rather than part-time basis, so we’re not differentiating here. We do not
include FTE and FYE measures in the “Metrics that Matter” collection. Many colleges serve sizable
part-time populations (especially the case with a community college). In those instances, analysts like to
calculate an FTE (Full-time-equivalent) ----- or an FYE (Full-year equivalent). The state of Colorado often
reports enrollment in terms of FTE (their figures are actually FYE).
Retention/Persistence
“Retention” typically refers to the proportion of first-year students that return for a second-year. Most
schools will focus on retention of “First-time, full-time freshmen.” The retention statistic is a little
more timely than the longer-term graduation rate – which measures the proportion of students that
graduate within a specific period of time (typically 4 or 6 years). Retention is a good predictor of
graduation rates, which makes it a favorite metric for program evaluation.
“Persistence” statistics are less uniformly defined. Here at FLC, we measure the proportion of
sophomore students that return for a junior year. Persistence statistics are gaining attention,
particularly among institutions that have good freshman retention, but weak graduation rates.
Graduation Rates
In the national mindset, college graduation rates have been a gold standard of “quality” for over a
decade. Graduation rates measure the proportion of students starting as freshmen, who graduate
within a specific period of time – typically four or six years. The six year rate became popular since six is
equal to 1.5 times the typical “design time” for a four-year degree. Recent public policy initiatives have
tried to move institutions away from six year rates, and back toward a traditional four-year rate. Critics
frequently complain that graduation rates exclude transfer students, as well as students that start any
time other than fall. OIRPA acknowledges this shortcoming. However, we do not feel this issue detracts
from the relevancy of graduation rates. First, very few students at FLC initiate their studies on a parttime basis. Second, there is little agreement nation-wide about how to measure graduation rates for
transfer students.
Readers will note that OIRPA includes a graduation rate “Gap.” This relatively new measure represents
the difference between the overall graduation rate, and the graduate rate for under-represented
minorities. Political authorities like to see the gaps decrease over time. FLC’s graduation rate gap has
done that.
FLC also reports a metric for Time-to-Completion. Consumers (parents) and public officials frequently
pressure colleges and universities to reduce the amount of time needed to complete a degree. FLC’s
time-to-completion is comparable with other institutions in the state. However, our time-to-complete is
measurably longer than the traditional four-year design time.
Financial Metrics
Most of our financial metrics draw from material provided in the College’s Budget. “Total Budget”
includes the entirety of the college’s finances, E &G, as well as, auxiliaries, grants and construction. The
E&G budget is approved annually by the Board of Trustees. It is important to note here that E&G does
not represent FLC in its entirety – in that it excludes certain activities that are funded by sources other
than tuition, fees, and state appropriations.
Total Budget: Revenues, including Operating and non-operating. Funds. This figure ties the revenue
figure in our annual financial report.
General Fund: Represents funds tied primarily to tuition, fees, and state appropriations. Effectively, the
discretionary funds.
Tuition Revenue: Funds received for tuition – NET of Colorado’s College Opportunity Fund (COF).
Non-State funds: The percent of funds in the General Fund that are provided by sources other than the
State. This statistic is particularly relevant given long-term projections about the sustainability of
Colorado’s budget.
Instructional Expenditures as a percent of Total: “Instructional expense” is defined by NACUBO as
expenditures for activities that are part of our instructional program. This category would include credit
and non-credit instruction, remedial and tutorial instruction, community education, and departmental
research.
Student FTE: For the purposes of this document, a FTE is really a full year equivalent – defined by the
state of Colorado as one student taking 30 credit hours in an academic year.
Faculty FTE: Teaching faculty, excluding academic administrators. This figure typically correlates with
the student/faculty FTE reports generated annually by OIRPA. Each full-time faculty member is counted
as 1. Adjunct/visiting faculty are pro-rated using the actual number of courses taught by each faculty
member.
FTE Students/Faculty: This ratio represents the ratio of students to faculty over the course of an
academic year. Cautionary note: this ratio is typically lower than the student/faculty ratio calculated in
the fall by OIRPA. The fall ratio uses the fall census – which is typically larger than the full-year
equivalent. There will be a range of ratios over the course of a year.
FTE Students/Staff: This ratio represents a ratio between students and administrative staff. The figure
comes from FLC’s staffing pattern. In the case of staff, the FTE is defined by the number of hours
worked weekly.
Financial Aid Awarded: Based upon the College’s scholarship budget and discount rate analysis. The
drop for 2014-15 is tied to a drop in enrollment.
Discount Rate: Scholarship budget, divided by gross tuition revenue. This figure is adjusted to remove
our CIB students (they are fully discounted through the waiver program).
Alumni/Foundation Metrics
Alumni giving rate: The proportion of graduates that give to the foundation.
Reported Salary: We use Payscale.com as a source, since it is widely available. The information
source likely over-states starting salaries, since the site appeals to competitive students that are trying
to get prospective employers to bid for their services. There is growing public interest in compensation
data. Reliable information is exceptionally hard to secure.
Student Loan Default: The federal government publishes statistics on loan default. The key correlate
with an institution’s loan default is their graduation rate. Last year, our accrediting body, the Higher
Learning Commission began monitoring default rates, as well. When an institutions graduates are in
healthy financial circumstances, the sentiment is that the institution is healthy in other spheres of
accountability/performance.
Gifts to foundation: The value of gifts received by the FLC Foundation (excludes investment earnings, as
well as transferred funds)
Endowment: Endowed funds per the FLC Foundation annual report.
Classroom Metrics
Average class size: OIRPA calculates this statistic each fall. The figure would be slightly lower if we
calculated average class size for the entire year. This figure uses fall enrollment.
Classroom Student/Faculty ratio: This figure is calculated by OIRPA each fall. We follow standards
prescribed for the Common Data Set (CDS). The figure is typically higher than the fiscal-year
student/faculty ratio.