Julian Grendel wrote:Increasing the academic profile of incoming students seems like the most identifiable. 30 ACT etc.
Part of the "Pony Power" thing is to increase giving in order to generate more scholarship $ to be able to continue to attract high level students and compete with the ever elusive "peer institutions," according to the promo material.
If we want to move up, then follow the formula:
Graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent)
Undergraduate academic reputation (22.5 percent)
Faculty resources (20 percent)
Student selectivity (12.5 percent)
Financial resources (10 percent)
Graduation rate performance (7.5 percent)
Continuing to talk about ACT or SAT scores is not really helpful. Student Selectivity is only one part (65% Test Scores, 25% percent in top 10, and 10 percent student admitted to applicants).
Money will help with faculty resources and financial resources, which SMU likely does poorly in considering the high amount of debt students graduate with.
Graduation and retention rates should be very doable if they stop looking at students as cash cows. Here are SMU's graduation rates four-year (66 percent) and six-year (78 percent). SMU has done a good job at retaining first year students at about 90 percent. \
We should be killing it for Graduate rate performance, but we aren't doing any better than UT with almost 6 times as many students. For a school like SMU, 30 to 40 percent should be going to grad school and the rest should have jobs secured, especially since we are in the heart of Dallas.
RGT as proven that he doesn't know how to put a staff together that will increase its academic reputation or selectivity. Our peers in TX private schools aren't doing any better--TCU and Baylor. Get east coast admission officers and administration to right the ship.