The Rise of the Informed Consumer
and Student Return on Investment
Mary Docken
Branden Grimmett
VP Association Partnerships
Hobsons
Director, Piper Center
St Olaf College, MN
February 7, 2015
Welcome & Overview
Context Matters: Information and Choice Process
SROI Best Practices at St. Olaf College
Q&A
2
Where do students turn for
information about college?
Online tools:
ED sources (e.g. Financial Aid Shopping Sheet): general
college info and interesting analyses (if you dig)
College Web Sites: specific information about one college,
sometimes personalized to student
Social Media: College-sourced, peers, recruiters, etc.
Naviance et al: college and career research and planning
and connect
3
Where do students turn for
information about college?
Peers:
One study showed that conversations with friends increase
the probability of college enrollment. But if a student’s
preferred college isn’t popular with peers, the student is less
likely to enroll in that particular college.
theop.princeton.edu/reports/wp/Fletcher%20THEOP.pdf
School Counselors & Admission Officers:
College choice can be shaped by data. In one study,
providing graduation data increased enrollment by 15% in
the college with the higher graduation rate.
www.aei.org/papers/education/k-12/filling-in-the-blanks/
4
Do all students access information?
What about high ability, low-income students?
“Under-matching” phenomena (Hoxby, 2012)
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/projects/bpea/spring%202013/2013a_hoxby.pdf
Information makes a difference!
Expanding College Opportunities intervention: Personalized info on
Net Price, Graduation Rates, Educational Resources (also, Fee
Waivers)
EOC students = 46% more likely to enroll at institutions that reflect
their abilities and enrolled in institutions with grad rates 15% greater
than control group (Hoxby and Turner, 2014)
http://siepr.stanford.edu/?q=/system/files/shared/pubs/papers/12-014paper.pdf
5
Liberal Arts Colleges’ Image Issue
“I am not liberal.”
Many high ability, low-income prospective college students simply do
not know what a liberal arts college is (Hoxby & Turner, 2014)
Information makes a difference!
What is your school doing to ensure that you reach your
intended audience? And, are high ability, low income
students part of your target audience?
6
Can people have too much choice?
Study #1: Jam Study
Researchers set up two tasting booths for jam – one
with 24 different flavors and one with 6
60% of customers went to the booth with 24 choices,
and 40% went to the booth with 6 choices
30% of the customers with 6 options bought jam,
while only 3% of the customers with 24 options
made a purchase
7
Iyengar, Sheena S., & Lepper, Mark R. (2000). When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire
Too Much of a Good Thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995-1006.
Can people have too much choice?
Study #2: Essay Study
Students in an introductory college-level course
were given the option of writing an extra credit
essay.
Half the students were given a list of 30 possible
topics, the other half a list of 6.
Students with the list of 6 topics were more likely to
write the essay than the group given the list of 30.
Students given fewer choices for topics wrote
higher quality essays.
Iyengar, Sheena S., & Lepper, Mark R. (2000). When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire
Too Much of a Good Thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995-1006.
8
Can people have too much choice?
Conclusions
Having extensive choices in a trivial context can be de-motivating
(perhaps even more so in the context of significant decisions).
The only context in which people are more comfortable with
extensive choice is when they have previous experience with
some of the options.
Iyengar, Sheena S., & Lepper, Mark R. (2000). When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire
Too Much of a Good Thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995-1006.
9
College Attendance Decisions
In your opinion, which of the following is the MOST important factor in
choosing which college or university to attend? (general population
response)
60%
50%
51%
40%
43%
41%
37%
30%
40% 40%
All respondents
33%
32%
<$3,000/mo.
$3,000-$7,499/mo.
20%
>$7,500/mo.
22%
10%
16%
14% 13%
0%
% grads able to get a good % students who graduate Price of college/university
job
10
http://www.gallup.com/poll/163268/americans-say-graduates-jobs-status-keycollege-choice.aspx
But what REALLY matters to life
after college?
Gallup-Purdue Index: It’s not where you attend, but rather what
and how you experience postsecondary education that matters.
Odds of being engaged at work (for a college graduate)…
1.9x Higher if ... My professors at [College]
cared about me as a person.
2.6x Higher if ... [College] prepared me
well for life outside of college
2x Higher if ... I had an internship or job that
allowed me to apply what I was learning in the
classroom.
2.2x Higher if ... I had a mentor who encouraged me
to pursue my goals and dreams.
2.4x Higher if ... [College] passionate about the
long-term success of its student
11
http://products.gallup.com/168857/gallup-purdue-index-inaugural-national-report.aspx
Pressure for Outcomes
The buyer, the Fed, states
From where is the pressure coming at you?
12
St. Olaf College Case Study
The Piper Center for
Vocation & Career
Key Takeaways
- College & student profile
- Context & response
- Transformation of career center
- Data & transparency
- Considerations
College Profile
- Founded 1874 in Northfield, MN
- Core liberal arts curriculum
- 95% students live on campus
- 4-1-4 academic calendar
- 88% receive financial aid
- 200+ student organizations
- 27 varsity sports
Student Profile
- 3,034 students (undergraduate only)
- 50 states, 73 countries
- 23% multicultural and international
- 73% study off-campus
- 85 majors, concentrations, programs
- 42% men, 58% women
- 15% first generation
- 93% retention rate (first-year to sophomore)
Context
- Societal concerns about cost & value of private higher ed
- Misunderstanding/undervaluing liberal arts education
- Media sensationalism: cost, Feds role, debt, unemployment
- Tuition driven institution within a complex market
- 2008-09 economic crisis
Response: Main Street Initiative (2010-11)
- Campus conversation about preparing for life after college
- Strategic plan reinforced core mission and commitments
- Renewed commitment to vocational discernment
- Strengthened links between education and experience
- Transparent presentation of student outcomes
- Transformation of campus career center
Transformation of Career Center
- Secured gift to endow and name center
- From reactionary model to proactive, developmental model
- Relocated office centrally, realigned staff, scaled programs
- Goal: to be a national leader among highly selective
liberal arts colleges at intentionally preparing students
for life after college
Four-Year Plan
Student Engagement:
8 out of 10 students use the Piper Center
Career Coaching
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
1,919
2,590
2,690
3,087
+35%
+4%
+15%
Oles are more engaged than their peers
St. Olaf
90% First Years
64% Sophomores
76% Juniors
84% Seniors
Peer institutions*
48% First Years
53% Sophomores
55% Juniors
77% Seniors
*36 Liberal Arts Career Network schools
Data & Transparency
First Destination (92% response rate)
Class of
2011
2012
2013
Working
70%
70%
73%
Education 28%
28%
24%
Other
1%
1%
0%
Seeking
1%
1%
3%
Cost?
$750 + Pizza
- Online survey
- Requirement for cap & gown
- Quarterly follow up
- LinkedIn research
- Personal calls
First destination matters, but it’s not everything
- Are alumni using the skills they learned as a student?
- Do graduates find their work meaningful?
- Are starting salaries high enough to manage debt burden?
- What percentage of alumni get into graduate school?
- Did the curriculum prepare alumni for graduate school?
- Are alumni involved in social/civic activities?
- Does the college experience contribute to personal
development?
Data & Transparency
Financial Independence
Data & Transparency
Professional Accomplishment
Data & Transparency
Personal Fulfillment
Questions & Discussion:
- How can our institutions make a stronger case for ROI?
- How can the career center and outcomes play a role?
- How can we be more transparent about outcomes?
- What is the relationship between admissions & career?
- Where can greater resource allocation make a difference?
- Do our alumni feel the college supported their career?
Considerations:
- Engage the entire campus in a discussion on outcomes
- Relocate career center to centrally located spot on campus
- Designate career center as first stop on the admissions tour
- Start with transparency, even if the numbers aren’t perfect
- Foster collaboration between admissions, career center
- Allocate resources and align strategy to focus on outcomes
- Know your alumni and how the college prepared them
Thank You!
Mary Docken
VP, Association Partnerships
Hobsons
mary.docken@hobsons.com
@mbdocken
Branden Grimmett
Director of the Piper Center
St. Olaf College
grimmett@stolaf.edu
@brandengrimmett