4.When is the best time to cancel a low-enrolling course?
Historically, all course offerings were carried to the first day of the semester and all decisions about either carrying or canceling the course were made on the first days of class, states the report. However, after analyzing the historical course enrollment trends for each semester, administrators discovered that these decisions may be made much earlier, since enrollment levels stabilized weeks before the first day of classes. The authors include a sample of a report generated by the Center’s big data software that tracks enrollments in relation to the start of the semester. The report, which includes three years of enrollment data, “demonstrates a consistent and predictable build-up of enrollments over the weeks leading up to the first day of the semester and informs the Center on when ‘enrollments’ sufficiently leveled off and when it is best to make final cancel/carry decisions,” write the authors.
5.What is the best day, and time of day, to offer courses?
Administrators found that there is a “multiplicity effect in assigning courses to time periods.” For instance, a popular course offered during a popular time will result in more enrollments than a popular course offered during an unpopular time.
6.Which courses do the students really want to take, and when?
Although the report’s authors note that the Center is unable to observe distinct preferences for all potential enrollments, “it is important to incorporate student preferences whenever possible. The most practical way to do this is by surveying students currently enrolled and optimizing the future academic schedule to their preferences.” A survey instrument will be designed and administered in the near future, say the authors.
Though the Center has seen an enrollment spike this year, the report’s authors caution that the results are premature, and more time and fine-tuning on research is needed.
However, “using new tools to analyze big data sets in an educational setting of distance and continuing educators is proving most helpful,” conclude the authors. “Instead of following a best-guess approach for scheduling and staffing decisions, new best practices are being introduced and integrated into the work process to more fully realize the Center’s mission and satisfy senior administrators’ vision for the BYU Salt Lake Center.”
For much more in-depth information on research methodology, strategy description, and the Center’s demographics and mission, read the full report, “Six Ways to Increase Enrollments at an Extended Campus.”
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