Finances At Women's Colleges...And At Sweetness Briar College...May Hold Upward Improve Than You've Been Led To Believe

Reading articles together with weblog posts over the past times few weeks alongside authors speculating most the prospects for women's colleges led me to come across if this mightiness endure a proficient fourth dimension to calculate a few fiscal ratios together with play a flake alongside Tableau Public's visualization software.  

I surely learned a lot together with enjoyed the opportunity.  I accept also concluded that analysis of fiscal information available through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) suggests that the fiscal wellness of women's colleges generally, together with Sweet Briar College inward particular, may endure improving together with is amend than what y'all mightiness think.  

The next tables summarize information for 2 five-year periods for 46 institutions...members of the Women's College Coalition that study fiscal information to IPEDS.  There are also a dyad of institutions included that were women's institutions during the early on years of this past times decade before deciding to acknowledge men equally students.  These were retained since women yet comprised 90% or to a greater extent than of their enrollment.  

The analysis used follows a model set out past times Bain together with Company alongside their Sterling Partners on The Sustainable University website.  These pages are enjoying a flake of resurgence inward popularity amidst pundits together with are typically cited favorably equally evidence that higher instruction is on shaky fiscal footing.  In contrast, I flora that few, if any, critics of the approach provided whatever evidence that they attempted to replicate the analysis initially published inward a brief linked off the site together with authored past times Jeff Denneen together with Tom Dretler.  Instead, most comments inward this latter category focus on the many organizational together with policy suggestions offered. 

To set it simply, I wanted to come across if the model mightiness work.  The ratios are tardily to calculate together with furnish an added exercise goodness that y'all tin compare both populace together with someone institutions.  So, I started alongside information from the FY 2004-FY 2008 fourth dimension frame together with flora that 8 institutions, or 17% of those inward the study were characterized equally "financially sound."  

The issue considered "financially sound" together with therefore rose to 32 institutions, or 70% of the grouping when using FY 2009-FY 2013 data.  The fiscal province of affairs for Sweet Briar College showed like signs of improvement during this period, moving from prison theater cellphone A-3 to C-2 inward the next tables.  The i women's establishment inward the grouping that did unopen at the halt of FY 2014 was Lexington College inward Chicago, IL together with it landed inward prison theater cellphone A-3.

The procedure for placing institutions inward cells involves calculation of the differences inward 2 ratios betwixt 2 points inward time.  Three cells inward the upper correct mitt corner reverberate increasing expenses equally a per centum of revenues together with declining internet assets equally a per centum of full assets...and are considered equally unsustainable for institutions.  In contrast, the ideal province of affairs represented inward prison theater cellphone C1 inward the next tabular array results from decreasing expense ratios together with positive changes inward the equity ratios.

The electrical flow Sustainable University site indicates that it is updated for 2014 together with classifies 43% of the institutions equally unsustainable, spending to a greater extent than than they tin afford.  Note that this electrical flow 2014 update appears to encompass a half-dozen twelvemonth menstruation spanning FY 2007 through FY 2012.   The initial briefing newspaper linked from the site that I mentioned previously appears to accept used information from FY 2006 through FY 2010.

I also used the same IPEDS information for the women's colleges together with universities to exercise a quick dashboard inward Tableau Public that is inserted below.  You tin hover over the views to come across an institution's hollo alongside the corresponding values or y'all tin access the information set upwardly through Tableau.

The initial persuasion inward the dashboard places institutions on the map alongside the size of the marking determined past times Fall 2013 FTE enrollment together with the coloring cloth past times their classification.  The persuasion inward the lower correct mitt corner places institutions past times their ratios for the FY 2009 through FY 2013 period...please complaint that the vertical axis hither is reversed from that used for The Sustainable University model described above.  Finally, the persuasion inward the lower correct mitt corner plots 2 FTE enrollment figures for each institution.

With the exception of Lexington College mentioned previously, it surely appears that three-fourths of the women's colleges together with universities were inward a healthier fiscal seat at the halt of FY 2013 than they were 5 years earlier.

Thanks for reading together with I am looking forrard to your feedback together with suggestions!

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