1. SAIS-NAIS 2007 Winter Retreat Mark J. Mitchell, NAIS VP, Sch Info Services mitchell@nais.org Benchmarking Performance: Tools You Can Use

2. NAIS StatsOnline  Variety of reports available –How quickly do you need information? –How broadly do you want to compare yourself to others? –What problem are you looking to solve? –What picture are you painting?  NAIS Statistical Reports –Facts-At-A-Glance (public) –National Tables (NAIS members-only) –Custom Benchmarking (Five authorized users at member schools) –Custom reports also available  Comparative, Analytical Tools –Dashboard Indicators –Financing Schools Calculator

3. Facts-At-A-Glance  Problem: “I have a committee meeting on evaluating our endowment position, which we feel is too low. The meeting starts in fifteen minutes and I need to know the endowment of the typical NAIS and SAIS school.”  Answer: Average endowment for all NAIS schools in 2005-06 was $33,639 per student. For SAIS schools, it was $16,018.  Where to find these data?

4. Facts-At-A-Glance  Provides quick and easy benchmarking at the broadest level…comparisons to an association’s members for one- year snapshots  Access to 140 key indicators –Enrollment, tuition, financial aid, attrition, admissions, student and staff diversity, –Per student ratios: income, expense, endowment, giving, staffing –Teacher salaries, benefits contributions  National facts as well as state/regional facts available (for StatsOnline participating associations) Next

5. Mouse over “Resources and Statistics” and click “Statistical Resources”

6. Select “Facts at a Glance”

7. Select the association (one at a time)

8. Select the year

10. Scroll down for endowment data

11. National Tables  Problem: Data for all schools is too generic. I need to know the endowment figure for day schools. Would also be nice to know same stats for schools of my size and location.  Answer: For day schools, endowment per student was $19,321; $14,546 for schools located in the Southeast region. For large schools (above 700 enrolled), $31,976.  Where to find these data?

12. National Tables  NAIS members-only –Available to any employee of an NAIS-member school who has created a profile on the NAIS website  Provides more detailed look at data variables –Includes some trend analyses and inflation adjustments, where appropriate –Benchmarks by enrollment size, day/boarding, geographic region, grade level, and gender (i.e., single sex or coed) Next

13. Be sure to login first

14. Click here

16. Select the category of data you want to see

17. Pick the year

19. Customized Benchmarking  Problem: My board chair wants to know even more specific endowment data. How does our endowment compare to the other large day schools in the state? What about several specific schools in our area that we overlap with?  Answer: Create a benchmark group of the schools you want to examine. If they have provided data and you have provided data, you can get the answer fairly quickly  Where to find these data?

20. Customized Benchmarking  Available using StatsOnline  Provides pre-set and customized benchmarking groups in categories that are more specific than Facts at a Glance and National Tables provide  All data collected in StatsOnline surveys are available for benchmarking (thousands of variables) –Must be one of five authorized users –Must give data to get data Next

21. Be sure to login first Click StatsOnline logo

22. Self-explanatory

23. Choose “Benchmarking”

24. Start by creating a comparison group

25. Create a custom group from scratch Or create from an existing group (over 120 pre-set groups)

26. View results; Select which schools to add to the comp group Choose criteria

27. Your Comp Group is created; edit or save the group

28. Share it Describe it Name it

29. Scroll to “Private Groups” to find your saved groups

31. To specify schools within search results, click the ones you want to add

32. Instead of all schools, select the schools that you want. Must choose at least 5 schools for a comp group to save.

33. Your customized benchmark group is created; click save

34. Now, let’s find the endowment data for the comp groups

35. Select the data/variable

36. 1. Choose “Variable Family” 2. Select which variable from list 3. Move variable to “Selected” 4. Click “Save”

37. MM Sample School Pick your Comparison Grp

38. Choose pre-set groups or custom groups you made

39. Variables, groups listed; Select year(s) to view

41. Dashboard Indicators  Problem: Is growing our endowment the financial challenge we should be most concerned about? What else is out there?  Answer: Endowment per student is comparable to but lower than the benchmark group (7.2% lower); other areas of concern may need even more attention –annual giving per student is 61% lower; –avg salary is 29% lower; –investment income nearly nonexistent; and –the attrition rate is twice as high  Where to find these data?

42. Dashboard Indicators  Highlights 20+ specific variables as key indicators/drivers of school financial position  Available in StatsOnline only, for head and business manager  Provides broad summary of data for your school and a comparison group you choose –Allows opportunity to spot over- and under-performing areas that may need attention –Helps determine short- and mid-range financial planning goals –Pre-cursor to Online Calculator Next

43. Choose “Financing Schools Calculator”

44. StatsOnline Dashboard Indicators & Calculator Your school name will appear automatically Choose 2006 to get complete data set

45. School data pulled automatically from StatsOnline. You can edit these fields to create scenarios or update info Any changes made are not saved in StatsOnline Click “Submit” to see the Dashboard

46. Select any comp group you’ve created or create one MM Sample School

47. View your indicators vs. the comp group MM Sample School

48. Consider areas of success and red flags

49. Do we have to raise salaries to be more competitive? How to fund it?

50. Online Calculator  Problem: Now we know endowment may not really our biggest challenge, relatively speaking. But raising salaries, perhaps through increased giving and other income sources, is something to be concerned about. What would it take to position ourselves for future financial equilibrium in those areas?  Answer: Using the Online Financial Calculator, plug in assumed rates of change in tuition, other income, salaries, and staffing to guide us along the right path  Where to find this tool?

51. Online Calculator  Project longer term impact of a budget-based decision –Can you afford it? What does the preferred future look like?  Five-year projections on major income and expense drivers –Adjustable or fixed –View impact on budget of certain financial decisions or targets –Alter variables if budget not in equilibrium, or otherwise unsustainable Next

52. Choose Adjustable or Fixed Projection

53. 1. Hold tuition at/near inflation 2. Seek more giving 3. Create special events revenue goals

54. 4. Push salaries to 2x inflation 5. Freeze fac. hiring Click “submit” to see what happens in 5 yrs 6. Expand admin staff for new giving & events goals

55. Is this growth realistic? More? Less?

56. Strong but diminishing returns? Can we afford more inv in fin aid and salaries? For how long? Hit the back button; change variables to explore other options What are we doing with the money?!

57. Compensation Benchmarking: For Heads, Business Managers Only  Salary data and comparison for key administrative positions  Executive compensation benchmarking for heads and CFO’s –Examine total compensation  Salary, bonuses, deferred comp, insurance, housing allowances, other benefits  Free reports from StatsOnline benchmarking section  Fee-based, customized, 10-page reports available from NAIS –Comparison groups include a customized peer group, by budget, endowment, association, state, and other groups

61. The End!