More Than 100 Higher Education Institutions Utilize Predictive Analytics to Raise Graduation Rates

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Advisory Board (EAB), a division of The Advisory Board Company, announced today that its Student Success Collaborative™ has grown to more than 100 member institutions, including such diverse schools as Southern Illinois University (SIU) and Susquehanna University. 

EAB serves executive leadership teams at more than 600 higher education institutions.  EAB's Student Success Collaborative (SSC) combines technology, consulting, and best practice research to help colleges and universities use data to improve retention and increase graduation rates.  At the core of SSC is a proprietary predictive software platform that identifies at-risk students and uncovers systemic obstacles to degree completion.  SSC's predictive model, which is personalized to each member institution, is grounded in research and draws on insight from more than four million student records.

Southern Illinois University Improves Student Retention
Through its work with SSC predictive data and pathway analytics, SIU achieved a 3.6% increase in retention and realized nearly half a million dollars in additional tuition revenue from fall 2013 to spring 2014.  

"Higher education has lagged behind other industries in terms of how it uses data," said John Nicklow, Provost at Southern Illinois University, a public research university.  "When we joined SSC, we were looking for a way to leverage data to prioritize our student success efforts and decision-making at the administrative level while enhancing individual interventions at the student level.  SSC offered us the opportunity to do both and the initial return on this investment has exceeded our expectations."

Susquehanna University Plans to Personalize Student Advising
Susquehanna University, a selective liberal arts institution in Pennsylvania, enrolls fewer than 2,500 students and became a member of SSC last fall.  "As a small private university, we joined SSC to improve the student experience by reimagining how we use data in advising," said Linda McMillin, Provost and Dean of Faculty at Susquehanna.  "Our goal is to have personal, high-impact conversations with every single student, creating a service environment that differentiates Susquehanna from other schools.  SSC provides us with the best practices and custom analytics to achieve this goal."

SSC Delivers Analytics to Increase College Completion
University administrators have never been under more pressure from students and policymakers alike to improve the postsecondary experience and increase graduation rates.  "Contemporary learners face a multitude of challenges that can take them off the path to graduation, with severe economic implications for schools and students," said Scott Fassbach, Chief Research Officer at EAB.  "SSC's analytics and peer networks shed light on which students are more likely to drop out and enable administrators and advisors to address problems early on and at scale, so more students see a return on their investment in education."

Through SSC, each institution receives customized analytics that identify the largest and most addressable pockets of risk unique to their institution.  Membership also includes peer benchmarking and cross-institution analyses and collaboration.  Topics range from the role of milestone course performance in predicting college completion to common systemic barriers to student success, including course bottlenecks and decentralized advising structures.

About Education Advisory Board
Through its innovative membership model, Education Advisory Board (EAB) collaborates with senior academic and administrative leaders at colleges and universities to solve their most pressing problems with research, technology, and consulting services.  EAB offers strategic guidance, best practices, web-based software solutions, and onsite implementation services.  For more information, visit www.eab.com. 

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131107/PH12179LOGO

SOURCE Education Advisory Board