University of Michigan-Flint Flint, Michigan

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1 July, 2011 University of Michigan-Flint Flint, Michigan Graduate Program Development Study Prepared by Eric Sickler Associate Vice President Prepared by Eric Sickler Associate Vice President Prepared by Eric Sickler Associate Vice President Prepared by Eric Sickler Associate Vice President Prepared by Eric Sickler Associate Vice President Jim Reilly Senior Marketing Consultant 615 Fifth Street SE/P.O. Box 1888 Cedar Rapids, Iowa (319) (800) Fax (319)

2 Contents Introduction... 3 National, State, and Related Data... 5 Competitor Degree Completion Data Analysis Competitor Website Reviews for Targeted Programs Other Areas of Study Executive Summary University of Michigan-Flint 2

3 Introduction The University of Michigan-Flint (UM-Flint) recently engaged Stamats, Inc. to provide research and analysis to inform strategic graduate program development initiatives and to provide recommendations for growing graduate program enrollment. The goal of the project is to assess market demand for graduate program development as reflected in degree completion trends for master s degree programs. The project focuses on gathering and reviewing Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) field of study master s degree completion data for the nation and Michigan; area of study master s degree completion data for a set of competing Michigan institutions; and providing more detailed reviews of UM-Flint s top three competing institutions websites information for programmatic details and delivery models. In addition to IPEDS data and when available, this report also integrates in other pertinent national research to inform the recommendations. Competitors UM-Flint selected the following 10 competitor institutions for this project: Oakland University Michigan State University Wayne State University Central Michigan University University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Eastern Michigan University Grand Valley State University University of Michigan-Dearborn Saginaw Valley State University Marygrove College Targeted areas of study UM-Flint defined the following five targeted programs for analysis. In addition, up to five additional programs will be identified by the client based on an initial review of master s degree completion data. Master s of social work Engineering explore mechanical engineering in particular Business explore MBA and additional opportunities in accounting, finance, or other Communication Physician Assistant Structure of the report Introduction National, State, and Related Data Competitor Degree Completion Data Analysis Competitor Website Reviews For Targeted Programs o Social Work Program Reviews o Physician Assistant Program Reviews o Communication Program Reviews o Engineering Program Reviews University of Michigan-Flint 3

4 o Business Program Reviews Additional program reviews o Education Program Reviews o Health care Administration/Management Program Reviews Executive Summary of Findings and Recommendations Information Sources This project was developed in ongoing discussions with Dr. Vahid Lotfi and Brad Macki, and included a review of available UM-Flint research and planning documents. In addition, IPEDS, National Center for Educational Statistics, Stamats, and other national research was used to inform this report. Each section of the report identifies the information sources, websites, and reports used in this review. University of Michigan-Flint 4

5 National, State, and Related Data Overview This section of the report provides master s degree completion information for the major fields of study for the nation, the Midwest region, and the state of Michigan. This information is most helpful for understanding the broad context for prioritizing master s degree program development opportunities. Key findings Enrollment projections show strong growth in master s and doctoral degree program enrollment though Nationally and in Michigan, the following six fields of study are primary areas to explore for graduate program development. The competitor reviews, however, will be needed to confirm demand for specific program development. o Education and Business Nationally, more than 160,000 master s degrees are conferred annually in Education and Business fields of study. The number of degrees conferred in each field has increased by more than 55,000 degrees between and with high growth rates for education (45.1%) and business (51.0%). In Michigan, both these fields of study also produce the most master s degrees conferred with over 5,700 degrees in each of these fields in These two fields of study should be primary areas for UM-Flint to explore for program development and graduate enrollment growth. o Health Professions and Related Clinical Studies Nationally, more than 60,000 Master s degrees are conferred annually and the number of degrees conferred has increased by 20,000 between and for a growth rate of 47 percent. In Michigan this field of study also ranks third for the most master s degrees conferred at nearly 1,800 in Programmatic development in this field of study also should be a strong focus for UM-Flint. o Engineering and Public Administration and Social Services (includes Social Work) Nationally, these fields of study rank fourth and fifth for the most master s degrees conferred with more than 30,000 degrees in each field of study. Between and , the number of degrees conferred in engineering increased by 9,900 (39.8%) and in public administration and social services by 8,339 (32.6%). In Michigan, in , there were 1,716 master s degrees conferred in engineering and 1,432 master s degrees conferred in public administration and social services, which again parallels the fourth- and fifth-most master s degrees conferred national data. These fields of study are solid areas for UM-Flint to explore for graduate programs development. Michigan appears to produce proportionately more engineering degrees than the nation as a whole, which likely relates to Michigan s historic industrial infrastructure. The more detailed competitor reviews are needed to confirm if mechanical engineering or social work are solid areas of study to consider for program development. o Psychology Nationally, this field of study ranks sixth overall for the most master s degrees awarded at more than 20,000. Between and the number of master s degrees conferred increased by 7,675 (48.8%). In Michigan, psychology ranks seventh, rather than sixth nationally, for the number of degrees conferred with 499 degrees conferred in All other fields of study Nationally, all other fields of study confer fewer than 20,000 degrees annually, and in Michigan fewer than 400 degrees in The exception for Michigan is University of Michigan-Flint 5

6 computer and information sciences that conferred 555 master s degrees in this field of study in Program development in any of these fields of study will need to be targeted. Demand for program development in these other fields of study will be better assessed though a review of Michigan data, reviews of competitor websites, and overall enrollment growth opportunities for these programs are likely to be smaller than for the six fields of study noted above. Enrollment in Master s and Doctoral Programs Projections The Projections of Education Statistics to 2019 report by Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Department of Education shows ongoing growth in master s and doctoral program enrollment through This annual report was released in March 2011 and you can download the report at Master s degrees between and the number of master s degrees is projected to increase 34 percent overall. Doctoral degrees between and the number of doctoral degrees is projected to increase 54 percent overall. National Field of Study Master s Degree Trends The following information comes from the Digest of Educational Statistics 2010 at This report also provides trend data for associate, bachelor, and doctoral degrees conferred and it is a useful resource for UM-Flint s ongoing strategic program development planning. Field of Study Master s Degree Conferred Trend Data Field of study Total 457, , , , , , , , , ,784 Education 123, , , , , , , , , ,564 Business 111, , , , , , , , , ,375 Health professions and related clinical sciences 42,593 43,623 43,560 42,748 44,939 46,703 51,380 54,531 58,120 62,620 Engineering 24,850 25,259 24,908 28,338 32,698 32,633 30,989 29,472 31,719 34,750 Public administration and social services 25,594 25,268 25,448 25,903 28,250 29,552 30,510 31,131 33,029 33,933 Psychology 15,740 16,539 16,357 17,161 17,898 18,830 19,770 21,037 21,431 23,415 Social sciences 14,066 13,791 14,112 14,630 16,110 16,952 17,369 17,665 18,495 19,240 University of Michigan-Flint 6

7 Computer and information sciences Visual and performing arts Biological and biomedical sciences English language and literature/letters Theology and religious vocations Communication, journalism, and related programs 14,990 16,911 17,173 19,509 20,143 18,416 17,055 16,232 17,087 17,907 10,918 11,404 11,595 11,982 12,906 13,183 13,530 13,767 14,164 14,918 6,781 6,955 6,937 6,990 7,657 8,199 8,681 8,747 9,565 9,898 7,022 6,763 7,097 7,428 7,956 8,468 8,845 8,742 9,161 9,261 5,534 4,850 4,909 5,133 5,486 5,815 6,092 6,446 6,996 7,541 5,169 5,218 5,510 6,053 6,535 6,762 7,244 6,773 6,915 7,092 Library science 4,577 4,727 5,113 5,295 6,015 6,213 6,448 6,767 7,162 7,091 Architecture and related services Security and protective services Physical sciences and science technologies Field of study and history Multi/interdisciplinary studies Mathematics and statistics Legal professions and studies Agriculture and natural 4,268 4,302 4,566 4,925 5,424 5,674 5,743 5,951 6,065 6,587 2,609 2,514 2,935 2,956 3,717 3,991 4,277 4,906 5,760 6,128 4,810 5,049 5,012 5,109 5,570 5,678 5,922 5,839 5,899 5,658 3,487 3,475 3,708 3,781 4,047 4,252 4,491 4,762 5,289 5,344 3,208 3,209 3,350 3,620 4,191 4,477 4,730 4,884 4,980 5,211 3,750 3,829 4,053 4,141 4,243 4,170 4,453 4,486 4,754 5,150 4,360 4,272 4,503 4,492 4,783 4,746 4,640 4,623 4,684 4,877 University of Michigan-Flint 7

8 Field of study resources Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics Engineering technologies Family and consumer sciences/human sciences Philosophy and religious studies Area, ethnic, cultural, and gender studies Transportation and materials moving Communications technologies Precision production Military technologies Not classified by field of study 2,322 2,354 2,580 2,978 3,199 3,740 3,992 4,110 4,440 4,822 3,256 3,193 2,754 3,314 3,697 3,680 3,702 3,634 3,797 3,728 3,037 3,035 3,075 3,049 3,124 3,407 3,539 3,443 3,565 3,592 1,876 2,013 2,149 2,332 2,499 2,500 2,541 2,690 2,873 3,455 1,882 1,838 1,683 1,607 1,794 1,827 1,983 2,080 2,199 2,453 1,376 1,386 1,371 1,578 1,578 1,647 1,739 1,716 1,879 1,859 1,544 1,555 1,541 1,509 1,683 1,755 2,080 1,699 1,778 1, , , Michigan, Midwest, and National Snapshot of Master s Degrees Conferred The following information was generated using the IPEDS State Data Center function at It provides a snapshot of the number of master s degrees conferred for fields of University of Michigan-Flint 8

9 study in This database is updated annually, so it again provides a good ongoing resource for UM- Flint strategic program development planning. Descending Order of Master s Degrees Completed For Michigan The highest master s degree program fields of study for Michigan are highlighted below. Field of Study Michigan Midwest United States Education 5,980 28, ,564 Business, management, marketing, and related 5,799 29, ,367 support services Health professions and related clinical sciences 1,795 8,616 62,620 Engineering 1,716 5,133 34,750 Public administration and social service professions 1,432 5,315 33,933 Computer and information sciences and support 555 2,945 17,907 services Psychology 499 3,161 23,415 Biological sciences 378 1,530 9,898 Social sciences 376 1,997 15,698 Architecture and related services 369 1,085 6,587 Visual and performing arts 325 2,492 14,918 Engineering technologies/technicians ,455 Theology and religious vocations 233 1,502 10,024 Communication, journalism, and related programs 227 1,204 7,092 English language and literature/letters 214 1,264 9,261 Library science 200 1,482 7,091 Physical sciences ,628 Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies ,822 Mathematics and statistics 155 1,002 5,211 Natural resources and conservation ,625 Multi/interdisciplinary studies ,344 Security and protective services ,128 Family and consumer sciences/human sciences ,453 Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics ,592 Liberal arts and sciences, general studies and ,728 humanities History ,542 Legal professions and studies ,150 Agriculture, agriculture operations, and related ,252 sciences Philosophy and religious studies ,859 Area, ethnic, cultural, and gender studies ,779 Military technologies 3 NA NA Communication technologies/technician and support services Personal and culinary services NA NA 8 Science technologies/technicians NA 2 30 Construction trades NA NA NA Mechanic and repair technologies/technicians NA NA NA Precision production NA 5 1,048 University of Michigan-Flint 9

10 Field of Study Michigan Midwest United States Transportation and materials moving NA 5 1,048 Undesignated field of study NA NA NA Council of Graduate Schools Another useful planning resource is the Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 1999 to 2009 report by the Council of Graduate School. This annual report shows both the enrollment and degree completion trends by fields of study during the past decade. See this report at For the purposes of this report, the Council of Graduate School information confirms that enrollment parallels degree completion data meaning that degree completion analysis is an accurate measure of enrollment demand. The following table shows the number of master s degrees conferred and fall enrollment for Please note that the Council of Graduate School information is less complete than previously used IPEDS or the National Center of Educational Statistics, but their findings parallel the previously reported data. The field of study categories used by the Council also is slightly different than the previously reported data including that psychology is not reported as a separate category, so we did not include it in the following table. The 2009 report includes responses from 699 U.S. colleges and universities that are members of the Council of Graduate Schools and/or one of the four regional graduate school associations. The responding institutions confer about 80% of the master s degrees and 90% of the doctorates awarded each year. Fall 2009 Master s Degrees Conferred and Enrollment for Largest Fields of Study Field of study Degrees Conferred Fall Enrollment Education 117, ,371 Business 103, ,815 Health Sciences 37, ,857 Engineering 30,996 75,406 Public Administration and Services 22,869 61,081 Stamats Research As we progressed through this project, we noted that UM-Flint has opportunities to increase graduate enrollment in its current programs by addressing practical issues of how, when, and where you deliver programs and by enhancing prospective graduate student information, messages, and services on your website. In parallel with your new program development planning, we recommend that you address program delivery formats and location, as well as enhancing information and messages on your website to assure maximum enrollment growth opportunities for the University. University of Michigan-Flint 10

11 Graduate adult learners Stamats Adult StudentsTALK research reveals that graduate students have practical concerns about flexibility, convenience, and cost when selecting graduate program and they also highly value information about faculty and academic reputation. As previously noted, we recommend that UM-Flint consider these practical delivery issues when developing new programs or for increasing enrollment in current programs, and we also recommend that you enhance messages and information about these factors on your website. Top graduate choice factors Flexibility of class schedules 60% Faculty are good teachers and mentors 57% Cost to attend 51% Academic reputation 49% Location is convenient to work or home 49% Graduate motivations for attending Graduate students also show a blend of practical and personal reasons for pursuing studies and your information and messages should reflect their priorities. These students are more often pursuing studies to advance their current career than to change careers and more likely to pursue studies for enrichment or enjoyment than to prove they can do it. Please note that a fundamental step for better establishing the academic reputation of your programs is to provide career outcomes information to show that your programs help your graduates to achieve their very practical goals of advancing their careers and increasing their incomes. Practical reasons To increase income (79%), advance in my current career (79%), improve job satisfaction (75%), and change careers (61%) Personal reasons For personal enrichment (90%), enjoyment of learning (81%), and prove they can do it (62%) Preferred delivery formats Our research asked students exploring graduate study for their preferences for course delivery formats in 2008 and The percent of students rating each of the following formats as most appealing are as follows. Format Courses at night 49% 41% Online and on-campus hybrid delivery 46% 36% Courses entirely online 43% 42% Courses on the weekend 32% 23% Daytime course during the week 19% 14% These results suggest the strongest preferences are for courses at night, courses entirely online, and online and on-campus hybrid delivery. Courses on the weekend are most appealing to about a quarter to a third of graduate students, and the lowest preference is for daytime courses during the week. While these national results are somewhat helpful, in the long term, we recommend that UM-Flint survey current and prospective graduate students in your marketplace to learn their preferences for delivery formats and for locations. University of Michigan-Flint 11

12 Sources of information The top three sources of information for prospective graduate students are as follows. Visit specific college websites 93% Contact the admissions office at specific colleges 87% A general web search for college-related websites 84% In order for UM-Flint to maximize graduate enrollment, it will be essential to enhance information on your website, increase opportunities for prospective students to contact admissions representatives, and to make certain your site is optimized for search engine marketing. UM-Flint Web enhancement recommendations As we explored your website, and your competitor websites, we noted several opportunities for UM-Flint to enhance prospective graduate student messages, information and services. At the moment, there are too many messaging and basic information gaps about UM-Flint graduate programs to fully engage and interest prospective graduate students. For example, while some graduate programs do a fairly good job at defining how the programs are delivered, other programs such as public administration and education do not. Per previous notes, better projecting flexibility and convenience for program delivery is necessary to attract graduate students, and in the future, UM-Flint needs to excel at these basics for describing how each of its graduate programs are delivered. Making basic website improvements should be your first steps for growing graduate student enrollment and you should address these basics whether or not you add programs. Strengthen positioning messages (quality, reputation, rankings, career outcomes, and accreditation) and integrate these messages into overview information about graduate studies and into specific program descriptions. You also should address programmatic focus, strength of faculty, real-world experience, facilities, or other distinctive strengths of your programs. Strengthen messaging about offering programs designed to fit the needs of working professionals and integrate these messages into overview information about graduate studies and into specific program descriptions. Specifically identify programs that are only delivered for full-time students and those programs should provide information about housing and/or relocating to the area. Don t assume prospective students will know which of your programs are designed for full-time students. Each of your graduate programs would benefit by having a Why study (blank) program at UM-Flint? website section for the college and schools pages that describe your graduate programs. Provide more detailed information about how programs are delivered the length of the term, number of courses per term, number of times the class meets per week, number of hours and the times the class meets, and time to degree information for full-time or part-time studies. Other competitors provide better information and prospective students considering those schools will know whether or not the program fits their life and work schedule. Also strengthen messages about the benefits of your delivery model greater flexibility, study at your own pace, earn your degree as quickly as possible, etc. rather than just describing features. Define where the program is delivered. You are competing with schools and programs that offer multiple delivery sites, so don t assume that prospective students will know that most programs are delivered on your campus. University of Michigan-Flint 12

13 Especially for graduate programs in Business, but consider this recommendation for all programs, provide entering class profile data number of years of work experience, age, types of occupations, and so on. You need to better convey the types of students who will be a best fit for your programs. All UM-Flint graduate programs would benefit from providing career outcomes data. Are your programs helping students to achieve their goals which are typically to advance their current career or to change careers? Address certification pass rates as well. At minimum, provide information about who is hiring your graduates and share profiles and stories of success of your graduates. Please note your I am Flint profiles are a good beginning, but you need to strengthen messages about career outcomes overall. Enhance financial information including providing easier access to tuition costs, financial aid, scholarships, assistantships, payment plans, and employer benefit information. Information such as scholarships and assistantships should address how to apply and provide the means for obtaining this assistance. Information about scholarships should be segmented into scholarships for new/entering students and those for current students. For programs such as a new physician assistant program, provide information about federal or state tuition reimbursement programs. Provide start dates for each of your graduate programs and application deadlines. You need this information to move prospective graduate students to action. Note that offering more start dates than other competitors for some graduate programs would likely give you an advantage in the marketplace. Next, we recommend that you address all of the above information in downloadable, promotional, program-information sheets for each program. It would help to have a standard program description format. Finally, for prospective graduate student services, UM-Flint does a good job at enabling prospective graduate students to request information, apply, attend open houses or information sessions, and to chat with advisors. However, you are somewhat inconsistent at enabling prospective students to contact specific admissions representatives or advisors by program, you are not addressing opportunities to schedule individual campus visits, and a few competitors enable instant online assistance and/or opportunities to receive a call to answer questions. In the future, strive for greater consistency for personalizing the recruiting process for each program and consider enhancing instant advising or requesting a call services, and explore providing individual campus visit opportunities. Off-site Delivery Locations In the future and in order to grow graduate program enrollment overall, UM-Flint should explore opportunities for the off-site delivery of programs as do many of your competitors. Our initial recommendation for identifying potential sites would be to analyze the conversion rates of inquiries to applicants and accepts to enrollments by geographic distance from Flint for each of your graduate areas of study. You also could do this analysis by city, such as those cities where you host your M.B.A. Information Sessions. You would be looking for locations with a high number of inquiries with lower than average conversion rates of inquiries to applicants and/or lower than average conversion rates of accepts to enrollments. In brief, locations with a large number of inquiries (high interest) and/or accepted students and low conversion rates would likely be good locations to offer off-site delivery of your graduate programs. University of Michigan-Flint 13

14 Competitor Degree Completion Data Analysis Overview This section provides tables showing high and moderate demand areas of study for your competitors in Another table provides the change in degrees conferred in high- and moderate-demand areas of study between 2004 and 2009 for the competitor set and the country. A final table shows the areas of study with the largest numerical growth from 2004 to 2009 among your competitor set. Based on our analysis of this degree completion information, we offer the following initial recommendations for UM-FLINT program development. Targeted programs Social Work There is an 8.4% increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 were high at 739. This is a very strong area to explore for program development. Business While multiple areas of Business studies are showing declines for degree production, we recommend that you immediately develop new programs in accounting and finance as they are showing increases in degree production. Other programs to consider for development are listed below. In addition to adding program in accounting and finance, we have a strong sense you could grow enrollment in your current M.B.A. programs by adding off-site delivery locations and other flexible study options. More insights about expanding current programs will come from the competitor reviews. o Accounting There was a 72.1% increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 were high at 382. We recommend developing this program. o Finance, General There was a 242.9% increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 were fairly high at 120. After accounting, we recommend that you develop this program. To some extent, the limited number of competitors offering this program may be decreasing total degrees conferred overall. o Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration General In the long term, consider adding Human Resources as it is one of the high demand programs among your competitors having conferred 300 degrees in Please note, however, that the number of degrees conferred by Central Michigan University (CMU) inflate perceptions of demand, as CMU delivers this program at locations across the United State. We would still recommend adding this program, but we also would wait a bit until Michigan more fully recovers from the current economic recession as the number of degrees conferred is down 30.4 percent since o Secondary programs to explore for development after more complete economic recovery in Michigan include business commerce, and management information systems (MIS). For Business Commerce, there were 181 degrees conferred in 2009, however, the number conferred is down by 11.7 percent since For MIS, there were 133 degrees conferred in 2009, but the number of degrees conferred is down by 45 percent since o Special note: Business Administration Management and Operations, Other While this area of study produced 290 degrees in , the only provider was CMU. We checked the CMU website and this M.B.A. program is only offered online (has a logistics management University of Michigan-Flint 14

15 concentration), while their on-campus M.B.A. program does not. The online programs are delivered by a CMU division that offers online programs and off-site programs at more than 60 locations in North America. The students earning the 290 degrees in this area of study online could have come from anywhere in North America, so this is not an accurate representation of demand in the state of Michigan. We, therefore, are hesitant to recommend the development of a program in this area of study. Physician Assistant This program shows some potential for development with a 5.3 percent increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 of 119. Communications While this area of study shows growth of 46.2 percent compared to 2004, the total number of degrees awarded was less than 100 for the competitor set. The competitor reviews also will need to more fully explore the specific program offerings, before we would recommend development of this program. At the moment, we are unsure of whether the focus of the programs is speech communication or if there are more applied areas of study, such as journalism and public relations to consider. Engineering With a 29 percent decline in the number of degrees conferred versus 2004, we would be hesitant to recommend developing this program immediately. In the long term, and after economic conditions have improved in Michigan, mechanical engineering may be a program to develop as it is a higher demand area of study with 335 degrees conferred in Our recommendations for program development in this area of study will be dependent on our review of the competitors. Other programs For other areas of study, it appears that there would be very strong opportunities to expand graduate programs in education and public administration, including health care administration/management. At least for public administration and health care administration/management, we think there are significant opportunities for UM-Flint to add programs and/or increase its share of the marketplace for students pursing these high demand areas of study. Snapshot of degrees conferred for competitor set As an initial step in program development consideration, we recommend that UM-Flint focus on creating offerings in high and moderate demand areas of study. Having noted the above, however, even though there is strong demand for studies in these areas of study, a comparison of degrees conferred in 2004 versus 2009 for this competitor set shows that there has been a decline in the number of degrees conferred in many of these top areas of study. Some of the decline may be attributed to economic conditions in Michigan and for education programs, perhaps a shift from education general to more specific or specialized areas of study. Next, as you develop programs, we also recommend that you focus on practical issues of convenience of location for program delivery, the flexibility of delivery formats, and cost as these prospective-student program-choice priorities are going to impact enrollment growth as much as programmatic offerings. We will focus on these practical issues in the competitor reviews. Finally, also noted that for current program offerings, UM-Flint is not the established leader for the most degrees conferred in any of the high- or moderate- demand areas of study meaning that there are likely opportunities to grow enrollment in your current programs by focusing on the practical matters of expanding delivery locations, offering additional flexibility of delivery options, better describing how programs are University of Michigan-Flint 15

16 delivered and perhaps addressing cost and/or better establishing the value of your programs primarily though career outcomes information. Tables for high and moderate demand areas of study are provided below. The full list of all Master s degree programs has been provided in Excel spreadsheets along with this report for your ongoing analysis. High demand Institution Name UM-F OU MSU WSU CM U UM- AA EMU GVSU UM-D SVSU MC Competitor Set Total Education General ,866 Business Administration and Management, General ,663 Social Work Special Education and Teaching, General Accounting Public Administration Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services Mechanical Engineering Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration General Reading Teacher Education Business Administration Management and Operations Other Health/Health Care Administration/ Management Educational Leadership and Administration General Library Science/Librarianship University of Michigan-Flint 16

17 Moderate demand Institution Name UM-F OU MSU WSU CM U UM- AA EM U GVSU UM-D SVSU MC Competitor Set Total Curriculum and Instruction Secondary Education and Teaching Electrical Electronics and Communications Engineering Business/Commerce General Information Science/Studies Teacher Education Multiple Levels Elementary Education and Teaching Engineering Other Engineering/Industrial Management Industrial Engineering Computer and Information Sciences General Early Childhood Education and Teaching Management Information Systems General Finance General Physician Assistant Educational/Instructional Media Design Clinical/Medical Social Work City/Urban Community and Regional Planning Biomedical/Medical Engineering Organizational Behavior Studies Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric Educational Instructional and Curriculum Supervision University of Michigan-Flint 17

18 Institution Name UM-F OU MSU WSU CM U UM- AA EM U GVSU UM-D SVSU MC Competitor Set Total Public Health Education and Promotion Public Policy Analysis Competitor set and national trend data for high and moderate degrees conferred 2004 to 2009 As noted earlier, many high- and moderate-demand areas of study show declines among this set of competitors and are moving counter to increases in the country for several of these areas. The areas with declines are highlighted in the table below. For example, in terms of decline, Business Administration and Management General shows nearly an 11 percent decline for degrees conferred among the Michigan competitor set versus nearly a 31 percent increase in the country. Mechanical Engineering shows a 29 percent decrease among the competitor set versus a 5 percent increase in the county. While overall demand remains high to moderate for all these programs, Michigan economic conditions have likely negatively impacted total degree production for these highlighted areas of study. Competition for students with these interests is likely to be intense in Michigan for the foreseeable future. This means that UM-Flint should also address practical issues of delivery locations, flexible delivery options, and cost as previously noted for establishing new programs and an expansion of current program offerings. Change in degrees conferred 2004 and 2009 Institution Name Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change Total #DIV/0! #DIV/0! Education General 1,866 3,705-1, % 26,114 27,959-1, % Business Administration and Management General 1,663 1, % 104,923 80,314 24, % Social Work % 19,077 16,545 2, % Special Education and Teaching General % 13,945 10,650 3, % Accounting % 11,415 8,017 3, % Public Administration % 9,902 8,118 1, % Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services % 12,611 12, % Mechanical Engineering % 4,644 4, % Human Resources % 4,137 3, % Management/Personnel Administration General Reading Teacher Education % 8,373 7,087 1, % University of Michigan-Flint 18

19 Institution Name Business Administration Management and Operations, Other Health/Health Care Administration/Management Educational Leadership and Administration General Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change ,515 3,421 1, % % 5,294 3,020 2, % % 20,694 15,893 4, % Library Science/Librarianship % 6,952 5,857 1, % Curriculum and Instruction % 17,841 13,440 4, % Secondary Education and Teaching % 9,364 6,340 3, % Electrical Electronics and Communications Engineering % 9,446 9, % Business/Commerce General % 10,713 9,662 1, % Information Science/Studies % 3,394 3, % Teacher Education Multiple Levels % 4,317 3, % Engineering Other % 1,193 1, % Elementary Education and Teaching Engineering/Industrial Management % 17,073 17, % % 1,904 1, % Industrial Engineering % 1,997 2, % Computer and Information Sciences General Early Childhood Education and Teaching Management Information Systems General % 4,935 8,127-3, % % 2,309 1, % % 4,405 7,268-2, % Finance General % 5,268 5, % Physician Assistant % 3,975 2, % Educational/Instructional Media Design % 3,594 3, % Clinical/Medical Social Work % % City/Urban Community and Regional Planning % 2,111 1, % Organizational Behavior Studies % 1,654 3,097-1, % Biomedical/Medical Engineering % 1, % Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric % 2,167 2, % University of Michigan-Flint 19

20 Institution Name Educational Instructional and Curriculum Supervision Public Health Education and Promotion Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change % 1, % % % Public Policy Analysis % 2,201 1, % Areas of study with largest numerical growth Institution Name Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change Business Administration Management and Operations Other ,515 3,421 1, % Special Education and Teaching General % 13,945 10,650 3, % Accounting % 11,415 8,017 3, % Teacher Education Multiple Levels % 4,317 3, % Public Administration % 9,902 8,118 1, % Finance General % 5,268 5, % Natural Resources/Conservation General % % Information Science/Studies % 3,394 3, % Social Work % 19,077 16,545 2, % Occupational Therapy/Therapist % 3,845 1,787 2, % Organizational Behavior Studies % 1,654 3,097-1, % Higher Education/Higher Education Administration , , % Secondary School Administration/Principalship % Kinesiology and Exercise Science % 1, % University of Michigan-Flint 20

21 Competitor Website Reviews for Targeted Programs In this section of the report, we provide competitor reviews for the three institutions that award the most degrees in each area of study. We noted that your top competitor, Oakland University, was not being addressed with this approach, so we added an Oakland University website review for graduate programs in business and in engineering. The reviews provide tables with specific information about program offerings, delivery formats, and costs as well as providing insights into the effectiveness of their websites and recruiting activities for attracting graduate students. In terms of website or recruiting activities, we highlight some specific examples for improvement in the initial reviews, but offer fewer examples later on to avoid repetition of similar recommendations. In general, the initial website enhancement recommendations provided in the introductory section of the report provide a good outline of improvements to make on the UM-Flint graduate program pages of your site. Program comparison tables are provided in each section of the reviews. Please note that NR in the tables refers to non-resident tuition rates. Finally, when available and appropriate this review section also identifies other resources to inform your program development planning discussions and/or future recruiting strategies to consider for these new programs. Social Work Program Reviews The three primary competitors selected for these reviews are as follows: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 267 master s degrees conferred in 2009 Wayne State University 262 master s degrees conferred in 2009 Grand Valley State University 148 master s degrees conferred in 2009 Per your request, we also reviewed the Master s degree program in clinical/medical social work provided by Michigan State University. This program conferred 115 degrees in 2009 versus 92 in 2004 for an increase of 25 percent. Findings in brief for Master s in Social Work (MSW) programs In developing your master s degree program in social work, consider each of the following. Develop flexible delivery options as all competitors provide some types of full-time and part-time study options. Grand Valley State appears to provide the most flexible full-time and part-time study options and we recommend that UM-Flint strive to reach this school s level of flexibility for program delivery. Addressing how to deliver a new graduate degree in social work will be essential for success for UM-Flint. It will be essential to provide an advanced standing option for students earning a bachelor s degree in social work from Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited undergraduate programs as it reduces total credit hours from 60 to 45 (or lower) and, therefore, it reduces tuition costs and time to degree completion. Advance standing students appear to be high-quality and well-prepared students, so they are a highly desirable market of students to attract to your new program. University of Michigan-Flint 21

22 Determine if you will provide concentration options, as do two of the competitors; or an advanced generalist approach as does Grand Valley State. Consider focusing and promoting that your programs are designed to meet the needs of Michigan. UM-Flint can have a recruiting and marketing advantage by addressing the website enhancement recommendations provided in the introductory section of the report. The reviews highlight several of these points: o Provide an entering class profile as does UM-AA o Better describe and provide examples of field placement opportunities o Make it easy for prospective students to contact admissions and program representatives o Provide campus visit options including individual campus visit options o Keep cost information simple (see Grand Valley State) o Segment scholarship information into scholarships for entering students and those for continuing students. Define how students can obtain scholarships Finally, establish application deadlines for this program. Explore a rolling admissions process for at least the advanced standing students (if not all students) and, if implemented, also provide early advising and registration processes for accepted students. This may give you an advantage in the marketplace among these competitors. Findings in brief for MSW Clinical/Medical Social Work As previously noted, this is a moderate demand area of study and Michigan State University (MSU) conferred 115 degrees in However, establishing a marketing or recruiting advantage for a new clinical/medical social work program developed by UM-Flint may be difficult as MSW already offers this degree at Mott Community College in Flint. In addition, MSU provides hybrid statewide delivery of this program, so it is likely attracting students from all across the state to produce 115 conferred degrees. We recommend that you first establish a traditional MSW program including offering full-time and part-time study options and reduced credit programs for advanced standing students. After establishing those higher demand programs, then explore adding concentrations that address clinical/medical social work. Your study options in this area will need to match or exceed the flexible study options provided by MSU and/or provide better practicum experiences than this competitor, and/or be priced lower than this competitor to gain an advantage in the marketplace. Clinical/medical social work should be a lower priority for development at this time. Program comparison table Institution Program and and school credit hours UM AA MSW 60 School of Social Work Advanced Standing 45 Concentrations Practice methods Community Organization Interpersonal Practice Management of Human Services Social Policy and Evaluation Practice areas Tuition per credit MI - $21,984 for FT, 2 semesters NR - $34,650 for FT, 2 semesters Per credit Delivery 16-month, full-time, includes summer for intense fieldwork 20-month, full-time, summer off and fieldwork is spread Extended degree first 30 credits PT, second 30 credits FT and continuous enrollment at Ann University of Michigan-Flint 22

23 Institution and school Program and credit hours Concentrations Aging in Families and Society Children and Youth in Families and Society Community and Social Systems Health Mental Health Tuition per credit tuition costs are not provided Delivery Arbor. Must complete the degree in 4 years. Limited enrollment Fifth term option 60 credits over 5 terms. Financial assistance not available for 5 th term Wayne State University School of Social Work MSW 60 Advanced Standing not described Interpersonal with additional tracks Community Practice and Social Action with additional tracks Tuition unclear. We assume the following: MI - $ per credit hours 2 year (4 semesters), full-time, structured and sequenced 4 year (10 semesters) part-time, planned, structured, and limited enrollment Grand Valley State University MSW 60 Advanced Standing 45 No specific concentrations, they use an Advanced Generalist program model NR - $1, per credit hour MI - $471 per credit NR - $646 per credit Unexplained advanced standing program for BSW students FT 2 year PT 3 or 4 year model Advanced standing FT 1 year, summer start, fall, winter continuous Michigan State University College of Social Sciences and School of Social Work MSW 57 Advanced Standing - 38 Clinical Practice Organizational and Community Practice MI - $ per credit NR - $ per credit PT 2 year, start any semester FT 2 year PT 3 or 4 years Advanced standing FT 1 year, PT 2 years and start in July Multiple delivery locations including Flint plus statewide blended online/classroom and weekend delivery models (see review) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Programs and Delivery Formats The MSW program is delivered by their School of Social Work. The School provides some flexible delivery options with 16 month, 20 month, extended degree (first half part-time, second half full-time), and an option to spread the required 60 credit hours over a fifth term, but financial aid is not provided for the fifth term. They provide a helpful calendar that outlines each study option and shows when fieldwork is integrated into those plans at University of Michigan-Flint 23