SAS® to help WKU increase enrollment, student retention, performance

Software provides Western Kentucky University access to timely data, supports decision making, strategy

CARY, NC - Western Kentucky University has selected SAS® software to help attract, retain and graduate students. SAS, the leader in business analytics, will enable administrators at WKU to harness student, institutional and performance data to predict which programs or classes are most effective in meeting their goals.

“WKU’s goals are to build an excellent international university, grow substantially and give every student the best possible chance to graduate,” said Bob Cobb, Director of WKU’s Office of Institutional Research. “Using SAS, we will be able to make better decisions – supported by advanced data analysis – that will help us be successful.”

WKU has defined a series of key performance indicators to enable decision makers to know their institution better. The data integration, analytical power and Web-based reporting capabilities of SAS® Enterprise BI Server and SAS® Enterprise Data Integration Server will provide those decision makers access to timely data in an easy-to-use application.

Admissions and student retention are priorities for WKU. SAS and WKU are building a model that applies predictive analysis to identify trends and opportunities to not only increase enrollment, but determine why certain programs have low or high completion rates and identify student success pathways.

Building off of a rich body of analytic and reporting work by Cobb’s office, SAS will enable WKU to use desktop tools and the Web to share critical data with academic leaders based on the WKU Common Data Set (CDS).

The CDS is a means for colleges and universities to collect comparable data using standardized definitions for questions of interest to higher education data providers and publishers. The CDS improves the accuracy and comparability of information reported about higher education and reduces the reporting burden on data providers. It contains information on college or university enrollment, admissions, transfer students, academic offerings, student life, annual expenses, financial aid, faculty data, and degrees conferred.

With more than 2,000 college, university and business-school customers in 109 countries and education specialists on every continent, SAS serves the education industry by delivering software solutions, strategic services and academic programs that spark innovation and expand educational opportunities.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know® .