Knowing When to Pull the Plug: The Role of Data in Program Suspension Decisions Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City Tami Knight and Tristan Londré

About MCC-KC Established 1915 Five Campuses Missouri Side 90+ Degrees 50+ Certificates

External Environment National and State completion agendas Performance funding is coming! Department of Higher Education program review – fewer than ten completers/year is considered “low producing” State “Perkins Maintenance of Effort” funds based on being high wage and high demand

Internal Environment Retirement Tsunami Ongoing Budget Woes Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

What Makes Programs Go Away? Low Student Interest - Quality Assurance Technology (closed 2010) Poor retention/completion – Logistics and Geographic Information Systems (protected by CIP) Local Economy - Aviation Technology (closed 1999) and Land Surveying (under review) National Trends and Low Employer Demand - Travel and Tourism (closed 2004) and Medical Transcription (closed 2013) Low Wage - Sign Language Interpreting (closed 2009)

DATA POINTS

Common Data Requests Occupational Overviews Needs Analysis Reports Program Reviews Misc. Ad Hoc Requests Feasibility Studies

Detailed Institutional Data Current Course Offerings Enrollment (Headcount and Credit Hours) – 5-year Trends Number of Students Claiming Program Number of Completions Placement (Graduate Follow-up Results)

Labor Market Analysis Is the market supporting the graduates? Graduate Follow-up EMSI Labor Insight (Burning Glass) Bureau of Labor Statistics

Economic Modeling Statistical Analysis (EMSI) Provides Historical and Projected Data Current Job Openings/Projected Annual Salary for Occupation/Projected Increase Can Disaggregate by Occupation and County Program Competitors Completions

Labor Insight (Burning Glass) Annual Postings (Growth/Decline) Calendar Year 2012, as compared to 2011 Top Detailed Titles Education Requirements Experience Requirements Certificates, Licenses and Skills (Specialized and Baseline) Major Employers

What Should the Criteria Be? Data raises the question, but people make the call – data can be a back-seat driver! The “rice bowl” issue - should it matter? External stakeholders have their own ideas

Common Red Flags Steep decline in enrollment or placement Advisory board says the occupation is “dying” Costs are prohibitive Institution needs more focus/coherence Students/employers not happy with results

Close it or Save it? Many common problems have fixes… would you replace a blown engine in this car?

Sometimes Demand is Cyclic? Health Care Construction-related Others?

Do Programs Have a Lifecycle?

What about… …rare programs? …programs funded by grants?

Questions?