Data acquisition
We work with clients to find the optimal process for timely and accurate acquisition of their enrollment data – not only for the past (which is the foundation for our aid optimization techniques) but also the current data as the enrollment season unfolds. There are two basic approaches for data acquisition:
- Client uploads data to our secure FTP sever.
- We use a remote VPN access to the gather the data directly from the client’s underlying data bases.
Either approach works well. We have developed systems and techniques to work with a diverse set of CRM and student-information systems which allow us to create processes that allow client data to be gathered and loaded into our SQL server databases automatically using scheduled tasks (daily, semi-weekly, etc.)
Dashboard Reports
During the enrollment season, as we receive new data for the current pool of admitted applicants, we provide a “Dashboard” report to each client that provides a series of customized tables, reports and charts that showing up-to-date information on the characteristics of the institutions applicants, admitted and deposited students. The Dashboard reports will typically also include detail on model predictions for head-count, discount rate, academic profile, etc. In addition the tables capture detail on what factors are driving changes in estimated yield from the prior to the current prior.
