A school is in the business of education, that is, providing an education to students. School operations are focussed around just that, and the Business Manager is responsible for ensuring the school can continue to go about that business into the future.
Have you ever considered how much time the Business Manager and Business Office spend analysing enrolment data?
What information does the Business Manager usually rely on to inform their role? The most obvious is financial data, as there is always a focus on budgets, monthly expenditure, meeting targets and obligations, and the primary source of that information is the general ledger. A considerable amount of time is spent preparing and reviewing financial reports to monitor this, and whilst this output is critical, this is not the ONLY data that should be relied upon. Student data should be considered first and foremost as this will ensure that the financial data produced is reliable and the budgets developed are realistic and well informed.
Student enrolment numbers, otherwise known as “Bums on Seats”, are the key financial driver of a school and directly impact both the curriculum and administrative operations of the school. They are also often perceived by the outside world as a measure of the school’s success - “Their numbers are up so they must be doing something right!”. In the Business Manager’s role, consideration should be given to reporting enrolment trends and accurate recording of student enrolment data. It is no longer viable in any school business office to simply rely on numbers of total incoming and outgoing students. More can be done to inform the business office of student forecasts and trends, and this data can be used to make informed decisions on school operations.
Enrolment data – what should be considered and when?
The Business Manager must be aware of the changes in enrolments and work closely with the Development office to continuously monitor movements and patterns.
It is not uncommon for student data to only be considered in detail by the business office when preparing student census lodgements and annual budgets. This might be sufficient for some schools, but operations of the business can be enhanced significantly if enrolment data is analysed in real time and on a regular basis rather than just at key reporting times. Enrolment data can change daily, and the reporting should reflect that, as this data is critical for schools that do not have enrolment waiting lists or those who are not meeting capacity.
1. Enrolment trends
It is relatively easy to keep track of prior year enrolment data, but how easy is it to see the reasons behind the trends? Are there internal or external influences that have contributed? Perhaps a new Principal has started and attracted new enrolments due to his or her reputation? Or a new school has opened in the area and students have left to enrol there? Or maybe a new housing development in the school’s catchment area has had an impact on enrolment applications in a future year?
Trends can really paint a picture, and when investigated, can offer great insight to inform future decision making and potential marketing campaigns.
2. Enrolment forecasts
The Business Manager requires accurate, reliable forecasts of student numbers for the following year for budget purposes etc. This includes knowledge of current students that will be graduating, current students who are not continuing into the next academic year, and new students that will be commencing and when. This information should be captured in the School Management System (SMS) and maintained regularly so that forecasted numbers are always up to date and budgets can be monitored. Teaching staff salaries are the largest recurrent expenditure item incurred by a school and overspend can occur quickly if enrolment data forecasts are overstated and therefore Staffing ratios are too high.
3. Leaving data
If leaving dates (and reasons) are not completed in the SMS, this may be because the data is not collected or just not entered due to the sensitivity of the information. However, we cannot stress how valuable it is to record these details. Leaving dates ensure that the student forecasts are accurate and can be indicative of departure trends if there are common themes in timeframes. And if data can be grouped by reasons for departure, the causes of such reasons can be analysed and addressed. It is not helpful for the details of a student departure to only be known to the Registrar and not entered in the SMS as this cannot be identified when data is extracted.
4. Conversion rate of enquiries
Ever thought about how many enquiries received by the school convert to an actual student enrolment? If conversion rates are high that’s great, but what if they are low or declining? What makes a family change their mind about enrolment between the time of making the initial contact and their child’s enrolment date? First impressions have a huge impact on successful enrolments and should not be underestimated. But how do you report on this? Once again, all contact with prospective families should be recorded in your SMS to allow this to be tracked against Student records. Due to the personal nature of the role, it is common for the Registrar to have the answers to why enquiries did not convert to a student enrolment, but if this information is not recorded in the SMS it is unable to be reported against.
How can enrolment data be reported?
Traditionally statistical reports are used, where data is displayed in tables in an excel format. Student forecast reports are typically prepared by the Registrar and are complicated and time-consuming. Depending on how future and current student data is kept at the school, the Registrar may have to prepare the reports using multiple data sources. When the reports are given to the Business Manager their useful life may be very short as the information is always changing.
We are now observing that dashboards are increasingly used for enrolment reporting. Business Managers do not have to wait for the information to be prepared to inform their decision making as access to the data is instant, and the visual nature of the reports (charts and graphs) assist in monitoring the trends occurring within the data that may require further investigation.
For dashboard reporting to be successful, all student data (future, current and past) must be captured within the SMS. If you are interested in enhancing your enrolment reporting by implementing dashboards, contact Precision for more information