University of Michigan-Flint Flint, Michigan

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Prepared by Eric Sickler | Associate Vice President | eric.sickler @stamats.com

Jim Reilly | Senior Marketing Consultant | jim.reilly@stamats.com

615 Fifth Street SE/P.O. Box 1888 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-1888

(319) 364-6167 | (800) 553-8878 | Fax (319) 365-5421 | www.stamats.com

University of Michigan-Flint

Flint, Michigan

Graduate Program Development Study

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Introduction

The University of Michigan-Flint (UM-Flint) recently engaged Stamats, Inc. to provide research and analysis to inform strategic graduate program development initiatives and to provide recommendations for growing graduate program enrollment.

The goal of the project is to assess market demand for graduate program development as reflected in degree completion trends for master’s degree programs. The project focuses on gathering and reviewing Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) field of study master’s degree completion data for the nation and Michigan; area of study master’s degree completion data for a set of competing Michigan institutions; and providing more detailed reviews of UM-Flint’s top three competing institutions’ websites information for programmatic details and delivery models. In addition to IPEDS data and when available, this report also integrates in other pertinent national research to inform the recommendations.

Competitors

UM-Flint selected the following 10 competitor institutions for this project:

 Oakland University

 Michigan State University

 Wayne State University

 Central Michigan University

 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

 Eastern Michigan University

 Grand Valley State University

 University of Michigan-Dearborn

 Saginaw Valley State University

 Marygrove College

Targeted areas of study

UM-Flint defined the following five targeted programs for analysis. In addition, up to five additional programs will be identified by the client based on an initial review of master’s degree completion data.

 Master’s of social work

 Engineering – explore mechanical engineering in particular

 Business – explore MBA and additional opportunities in accounting, finance, or other

 Communication

 Physician Assistant

Structure of the report  Introduction

 National, State, and Related Data

 Competitor Degree Completion Data Analysis

 Competitor Website Reviews For Targeted Programs

o Social Work Program Reviews

o Physician Assistant Program Reviews

o Communication Program Reviews

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o Business Program Reviews

 Additional program reviews

o Education Program Reviews

o Health care Administration/Management Program Reviews

 Executive Summary of Findings and Recommendations

Information Sources

This project was developed in ongoing discussions with Dr. Vahid Lotfi and Brad Macki, and included a review of available UM-Flint research and planning documents. In addition, IPEDS, National Center for Educational Statistics, Stamats, and other national research was used to inform this report. Each section of the report identifies the information sources, websites, and reports used in this review.

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National, State, and Related Data

Overview

This section of the report provides master’s degree completion information for the major fields of study for the nation, the Midwest region, and the state of Michigan. This information is most helpful for understanding the broad context for prioritizing master’s degree program development opportunities.

Key findings

 Enrollment projections show strong growth in master’s and doctoral degree program enrollment though 2019.

 Nationally and in Michigan, the following six fields of study are primary areas to explore for graduate program development. The competitor reviews, however, will be needed to confirm demand for specific program development.

o Education and Business – Nationally, more than 160,000 master’s degrees are conferred

annually in Education and Business fields of study. The number of degrees conferred in each field has increased by more than 55,000 degrees between 1999-00 and 2008-09 with high growth rates for education (45.1%) and business (51.0%). In Michigan, both these fields of study also produce the most master’s degrees conferred with over 5,700 degrees in each of these fields in 2008-09. These two fields of study should be primary areas for UM-Flint to explore for program development and graduate enrollment growth.

o Health Professions and Related Clinical Studies – Nationally, more than 60,000 Master’s

degrees are conferred annually and the number of degrees conferred has increased by 20,000 between 1999-00 and 2008-09 for a growth rate of 47 percent. In Michigan this field of study also ranks third for the most master’s degrees conferred at nearly 1,800 in 2008-09. Programmatic development in this field of study also should be a strong focus for UM-Flint.

o Engineering and Public Administration and Social Services (includes Social Work) –

Nationally, these fields of study rank fourth and fifth for the most master’s degrees conferred with more than 30,000 degrees in each field of study. Between 1999-00 and 2008-09, the number of degrees conferred in engineering increased by 9,900 (39.8%) and in public administration and social services by 8,339 (32.6%). In Michigan, in 2008-09, there were 1,716 master’s degrees conferred in engineering and 1,432 master’s degrees conferred in public administration and social services, which again parallels the fourth- and fifth-most master’s degrees conferred national data. These fields of study are solid areas for UM-Flint to explore for graduate programs development. Michigan appears to produce proportionately more engineering degrees than the nation as a whole, which likely relates to Michigan’s historic industrial infrastructure. The more detailed competitor reviews are needed to confirm if mechanical engineering or social work are solid areas of study to consider for program development.

o Psychology – Nationally, this field of study ranks sixth overall for the most master’s degrees

awarded at more than 20,000. Between 1999-00 and 2008-09 the number of master’s degrees conferred increased by 7,675 (48.8%). In Michigan, psychology ranks seventh, rather than sixth nationally, for the number of degrees conferred with 499 degrees conferred in 2008-09.

 All other fields of study – Nationally, all other fields of study confer fewer than 20,000 degrees

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computer and information sciences that conferred 555 master’s degrees in this field of study in

2008-09. Program development in any of these fields of study will need to be targeted. Demand for program development in these other fields of study will be better assessed though a review of Michigan data, reviews of competitor websites, and overall enrollment growth opportunities for these programs are likely to be smaller than for the six fields of study noted above.

Enrollment in Master’s and Doctoral Programs Projections

The Projections of Education Statistics to 2019 report by Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Department of Education shows ongoing growth in master’s and doctoral program enrollment through 2019. This annual report was released in March 2011 and you can download the report at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011017.

 Master’s degrees – between 2007-08 and 2019-20 the number of master’s degrees is projected to increase 34 percent overall.

 Doctoral degrees – between 2007-08 and 2019-20 the number of doctoral degrees is projected to increase 54 percent overall.

National Field of Study Master’s Degree Trends

The following information comes from the Digest of Educational Statistics 2010 at

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/tables/dt10_283.asp?referrer=report.

This report also provides trend data for associate, bachelor, and doctoral degrees conferred and it is a useful resource for UM-Flint’s ongoing strategic program development planning.

Field of Study Master’s Degree Conferred Trend Data Field of study 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 1 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total 457,056 468,476 482,118 513,339 558,940 574,618 594,065 604,607 625,023 656,784 Education 123,045 127,829 135,189 147,883 162,345 167,490 174,620 176,572 175,880 178,564 Business 111,532 115,602 119,725 127,685 139,347 142,617 146,406 150,211 155,637 168,375 Health professions and related clinical sciences 42,593 43,623 43,560 42,748 44,939 46,703 51,380 54,531 58,120 62,620 Engineering 24,850 25,259 24,908 28,338 32,698 32,633 30,989 29,472 31,719 34,750 Public administration and social services 25,594 25,268 25,448 25,903 28,250 29,552 30,510 31,131 33,029 33,933 Psychology 15,740 16,539 16,357 17,161 17,898 18,830 19,770 21,037 21,431 23,415 Social sciences 14,066 13,791 14,112 14,630 16,110 16,952 17,369 17,665 18,495 19,240

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University of Michigan-Flint 7 © 2011 Stamats, Inc. Field of study 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 and history Computer and information sciences 14,990 16,911 17,173 19,509 20,143 18,416 17,055 16,232 17,087 17,907 Visual and performing arts 10,918 11,404 11,595 11,982 12,906 13,183 13,530 13,767 14,164 14,918 Biological and biomedical sciences 6,781 6,955 6,937 6,990 7,657 8,199 8,681 8,747 9,565 9,898 English language and literature/letters 7,022 6,763 7,097 7,428 7,956 8,468 8,845 8,742 9,161 9,261 Theology and religious vocations 5,534 4,850 4,909 5,133 5,486 5,815 6,092 6,446 6,996 7,541 Communication, journalism, and related programs 5,169 5,218 5,510 6,053 6,535 6,762 7,244 6,773 6,915 7,092 Library science 4,577 4,727 5,113 5,295 6,015 6,213 6,448 6,767 7,162 7,091 Architecture and related services 4,268 4,302 4,566 4,925 5,424 5,674 5,743 5,951 6,065 6,587 Security and protective services 2,609 2,514 2,935 2,956 3,717 3,991 4,277 4,906 5,760 6,128 Physical sciences and science technologies 4,810 5,049 5,012 5,109 5,570 5,678 5,922 5,839 5,899 5,658 Multi/inter-disciplinary studies 3,487 3,475 3,708 3,781 4,047 4,252 4,491 4,762 5,289 5,344 Mathematics and statistics 3,208 3,209 3,350 3,620 4,191 4,477 4,730 4,884 4,980 5,211 Legal professions and studies 3,750 3,829 4,053 4,141 4,243 4,170 4,453 4,486 4,754 5,150 Agriculture and natural 4,360 4,272 4,503 4,492 4,783 4,746 4,640 4,623 4,684 4,877

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University of Michigan-Flint 8 © 2011 Stamats, Inc. Field of study 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 resources Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies 2,322 2,354 2,580 2,978 3,199 3,740 3,992 4,110 4,440 4,822

Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities 3,256 3,193 2,754 3,314 3,697 3,680 3,702 3,634 3,797 3,728 Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics 3,037 3,035 3,075 3,049 3,124 3,407 3,539 3,443 3,565 3,592 Engineering technologies 1,876 2,013 2,149 2,332 2,499 2,500 2,541 2,690 2,873 3,455 Family and consumer sciences/human sciences 1,882 1,838 1,683 1,607 1,794 1,827 1,983 2,080 2,199 2,453 Philosophy and religious studies 1,376 1,386 1,371 1,578 1,578 1,647 1,739 1,716 1,879 1,859 Area, ethnic, cultural, and gender studies 1,544 1,555 1,541 1,509 1,683 1,755 2,080 1,699 1,778 1,779 Transportation and materials moving 697 756 709 765 728 802 784 985 982 1,048 Communications technologies 356 427 470 442 365 433 501 499 631 475 Precision production 5 2 2 3 13 6 9 5 3 10 Military technologies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 202 0 3 Not classified by field of study 1,802 528 24 0 0 0 0 0 84 0

Michigan, Midwest, and National Snapshot of Master’s Degrees Conferred

The following information was generated using the IPEDS State Data Center function at

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study in 2008-09. This database is updated annually, so it again provides a good ongoing resource for UM-Flint strategic program development planning.

Descending Order of Master’s Degrees Completed For Michigan 2008-09

The highest master’s degree program fields of study for Michigan are highlighted below.

Field of Study Michigan Midwest United States

Education 5,980 28,791 178,564

Business, management, marketing, and related support services

5,799 29,232 168,367 Health professions and related clinical sciences 1,795 8,616 62,620

Engineering 1,716 5,133 34,750

Public administration and social service professions 1,432 5,315 33,933 Computer and information sciences and support

services

555 2,945 17,907

Psychology 499 3,161 23,415

Biological sciences 378 1,530 9,898

Social sciences 376 1,997 15,698

Architecture and related services 369 1,085 6,587 Visual and performing arts 325 2,492 14,918 Engineering technologies/technicians 270 809 3,455 Theology and religious vocations 233 1,502 10,024 Communication, journalism, and related programs 227 1,204 7,092 English language and literature/letters 214 1,264 9,261

Library science 200 1,482 7,091

Physical sciences 191 910 5,628

Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies 182 896 4,822 Mathematics and statistics 155 1,002 5,211 Natural resources and conservation 142 402 2,625 Multi/interdisciplinary studies 113 520 5,344 Security and protective services 99 785 6,128 Family and consumer sciences/human sciences 78 405 2,453 Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics 77 670 3,592 Liberal arts and sciences, general studies and

humanities

75 459 3,728

History 64 517 3,542

Legal professions and studies 51 801 5,150 Agriculture, agriculture operations, and related

sciences

46 315 2,252

Philosophy and religious studies 39 316 1,859 Area, ethnic, cultural, and gender studies 38 281 1,779

Military technologies 3 NA NA

Communication technologies/technician and support services

2 42 475

Personal and culinary services NA NA 8 Science technologies/technicians NA 2 30

Construction trades NA NA NA

Mechanic and repair technologies/technicians NA NA NA

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Field of Study Michigan Midwest United States

Transportation and materials moving NA 5 1,048

Undesignated field of study NA NA NA

Council of Graduate Schools

Another useful planning resource is the Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 1999 to 2009 report by the Council of Graduate School. This annual report shows both the enrollment and degree completion trends by fields of study during the past decade. See this report at http://cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=168.

For the purposes of this report, the Council of Graduate School information confirms that enrollment parallels degree completion data meaning that degree completion analysis is an accurate measure of enrollment demand. The following table shows the number of master’s degrees conferred and fall enrollment for 2009.

Please note that the Council of Graduate School information is less complete than previously used IPEDS or the National Center of Educational Statistics, but their findings parallel the previously reported data. The field of study categories used by the Council also is slightly different than the previously reported data including that psychology is not reported as a separate category, so we did not include it in the following table.

The 2009 report includes responses from 699 U.S. colleges and universities that are members of the Council of Graduate Schools and/or one of the four regional graduate school associations. The responding institutions confer about 80% of the master’s degrees and 90% of the doctorates awarded each year.

Fall 2009 Master’s Degrees Conferred and Enrollment for Largest Fields of Study

Field of study Degrees Conferred Fall Enrollment

Education 117,011 305,371

Business 103,908 257,815

Health Sciences 37,183 122,857

Engineering 30,996 75,406

Public Administration and Services

22,869 61,081

Stamats Research

As we progressed through this project, we noted that UM-Flint has opportunities to increase graduate enrollment in its current programs by addressing practical issues of how, when, and where you deliver programs and by enhancing prospective graduate student information, messages, and services on your website. In parallel with your new program development planning, we recommend that you address program delivery formats and location, as well as enhancing information and messages on your website to assure maximum enrollment growth opportunities for the University.

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Graduate adult learners

Stamats Adult StudentsTALK™ research reveals that graduate students have practical concerns about flexibility, convenience, and cost when selecting graduate program and they also highly value information about faculty and academic reputation. As previously noted, we recommend that UM-Flint consider these practical delivery issues when developing new programs or for increasing enrollment in current programs, and we also recommend that you enhance messages and information about these factors on your website.

Top graduate choice factors

 Flexibility of class schedules 60%

 Faculty are good teachers and mentors 57%

 Cost to attend 51%

 Academic reputation 49%

 Location is convenient to work or home 49%

Graduate motivations for attending

Graduate students also show a blend of practical and personal reasons for pursuing studies and your information and messages should reflect their priorities. These students are more often pursuing studies to advance their current career than to change careers and more likely to pursue studies for enrichment or enjoyment than to prove they can do it.

Please note that a fundamental step for better establishing the academic reputation of your programs is to provide career outcomes information to show that your programs help your graduates to achieve their very practical goals of advancing their careers and increasing their incomes.

 Practical reasons – To increase income (79%), advance in my current career (79%), improve job satisfaction (75%), and change careers (61%)

 Personal reasons – For personal enrichment (90%), enjoyment of learning (81%), and prove they can do it (62%)

Preferred delivery formats

Our research asked students exploring graduate study for their preferences for course delivery formats in 2008 and 2009. The percent of students rating each of the following formats as most appealing are as follows.

Format 2008 2009

Courses at night 49% 41%

Online and on-campus hybrid delivery 46% 36%

Courses entirely online 43% 42%

Courses on the weekend 32% 23%

Daytime course during the week 19% 14%

These results suggest the strongest preferences are for courses at night, courses entirely online, and online and on-campus hybrid delivery. Courses on the weekend are most appealing to about a quarter to a third of graduate students, and the lowest preference is for daytime courses during the week.

While these national results are somewhat helpful, in the long term, we recommend that UM-Flint survey current and prospective graduate students in your marketplace to learn their preferences for delivery formats and for locations.

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Sources of information

The top three sources of information for prospective graduate students are as follows.

 Visit specific college websites 93%

 Contact the admissions office at specific colleges 87%

 A general web search for college-related websites 84%

In order for UM-Flint to maximize graduate enrollment, it will be essential to enhance information on your website, increase opportunities for prospective students to contact admissions representatives, and to make certain your site is optimized for search engine marketing.

UM-Flint Web enhancement recommendations

As we explored your website, and your competitor websites, we noted several opportunities for UM-Flint to enhance prospective graduate student messages, information and services. At the moment, there are too many messaging and basic information gaps about UM-Flint graduate programs to fully engage and interest prospective graduate students.

For example, while some graduate programs do a fairly good job at defining how the programs are delivered, other programs such as public administration and education do not. Per previous notes, better projecting flexibility and convenience for program delivery is necessary to attract graduate students, and in the future, UM-Flint needs to excel at these basics for describing how each of its graduate programs are delivered.

Making basic website improvements should be your first steps for growing graduate student enrollment and you should address these basics whether or not you add programs.

 Strengthen positioning messages (quality, reputation, rankings, career outcomes, and accreditation) and integrate these messages into overview information about graduate studies and into specific program descriptions. You also should address programmatic focus, strength of faculty, real-world experience, facilities, or other distinctive strengths of your programs.

 Strengthen messaging about offering programs designed to fit the needs of working professionals and integrate these messages into overview information about graduate studies and into specific program descriptions.

 Specifically identify programs that are only delivered for full-time students and those programs should provide information about housing and/or relocating to the area. Don’t assume prospective students will know which of your programs are designed for full-time students.

 Each of your graduate programs would benefit by having a ―Why study (blank) program at UM-Flint?‖ website section for the college and schools pages that describe your graduate programs.

 Provide more detailed information about how programs are delivered—the length of the term, number of courses per term, number of times the class meets per week, number of hours and the times the class meets, and time to degree information for full-time or part-time studies. Other

competitors provide better information and prospective students considering those schools will know whether or not the program fits their life and work schedule. Also strengthen messages about the ―benefits‖ of your delivery model—greater flexibility, study at your own pace, earn your degree as quickly as possible, etc.—rather than just describing features.

 Define where the program is delivered. You are competing with schools and programs that offer multiple delivery sites, so don’t assume that prospective students will know that most programs are delivered on your campus.

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 Especially for graduate programs in Business, but consider this recommendation for all programs, provide entering class profile data – number of years of work experience, age, types of occupations, and so on. You need to better convey the types of students who will be a ―best fit‖ for your programs.

 All UM-Flint graduate programs would benefit from providing career outcomes data. Are your programs helping students to achieve their goals which are typically to advance their current career or to change careers? Address certification pass rates as well. At minimum, provide information about who is hiring your graduates and share profiles and stories of success of your graduates. Please note your ―I am Flint‖ profiles are a good beginning, but you need to strengthen messages about career outcomes overall.

 Enhance financial information including providing easier access to tuition costs, financial aid, scholarships, assistantships, payment plans, and employer benefit information. Information such as scholarships and assistantships should address how to apply and provide the means for obtaining this assistance. Information about scholarships should be segmented into scholarships for

new/entering students and those for current students. For programs such as a new physician assistant program, provide information about federal or state tuition reimbursement programs.

 Provide start dates for each of your graduate programs and application deadlines. You need this information to move prospective graduate students to action. Note that offering more start dates than other competitors for some graduate programs would likely give you an advantage in the

marketplace.

 Next, we recommend that you address all of the above information in downloadable, promotional, program-information sheets for each program. It would help to have a standard program description format.

 Finally, for prospective graduate student services, UM-Flint does a good job at enabling prospective graduate students to request information, apply, attend open houses or information sessions, and to chat with advisors. However, you are somewhat inconsistent at enabling prospective students to contact specific admissions representatives or advisors by program, you are not addressing opportunities to schedule individual campus visits, and a few competitors enable instant online assistance and/or opportunities to receive a call to answer questions. In the future, strive for greater consistency for personalizing the recruiting process for each program and consider enhancing instant advising or requesting a call services, and explore providing individual campus visit opportunities.

Off-site Delivery Locations

In the future and in order to grow graduate program enrollment overall, UM-Flint should explore opportunities for the off-site delivery of programs as do many of your competitors. Our initial recommendation for identifying potential sites would be to analyze the conversion rates of inquiries to applicants and accepts to enrollments by geographic distance from Flint for each of your graduate areas of study. You also could do this analysis by city, such as those cities where you host your M.B.A. Information Sessions.

You would be looking for locations with a high number of inquiries with lower than average conversion rates of inquiries to applicants and/or lower than average conversion rates of accepts to enrollments. In brief, locations with a large number of inquiries (high interest) and/or accepted students and low conversion rates would likely be good locations to offer off-site delivery of your graduate programs.

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Competitor Degree Completion Data

Analysis

Overview

This section provides tables showing high and moderate demand areas of study for your competitors in 2008-09. Another table provides the change in degrees conferred in high- and moderate-demand areas of study between 2004 and 2009 for the competitor set and the country. A final table shows the areas of study with the largest numerical growth from 2004 to 2009 among your competitor set.

Based on our analysis of this degree completion information, we offer the following initial recommendations for UM-FLINT program development.

Targeted programs

 Social Work – There is an 8.4% increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 were high at 739. This is a very strong area to explore for program development.

 Business – While multiple areas of Business studies are showing declines for degree production, we recommend that you immediately develop new programs in accounting and finance as they are showing increases in degree production. Other programs to consider for development are listed below. In addition to adding program in accounting and finance, we have a strong sense you could grow enrollment in your current M.B.A. programs by adding off-site delivery locations and other flexible study options. More insights about expanding current programs will come from the competitor reviews.

o Accounting – There was a 72.1% increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 were high at 382. We recommend developing this program.

o Finance, General – There was a 242.9% increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 were fairly high at 120. After accounting, we recommend that you develop this program. To some extent, the limited number of competitors offering this

program may be decreasing total degrees conferred overall.

o Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration General – In the long term, consider adding Human Resources as it is one of the high demand programs among your competitors having conferred 300 degrees in 2008-09. Please note, however, that the number of degrees conferred by Central Michigan University (CMU) inflate perceptions of demand, as CMU delivers this program at locations across the United State. We would still recommend adding this program, but we also would wait a bit until Michigan more fully recovers from the current economic recession as the number of degrees conferred is down 30.4 percent since 2004. .

o Secondary programs to explore for development after more complete economic recovery in Michigan include business commerce, and management information systems (MIS). For Business Commerce, there were 181 degrees conferred in 2009, however, the number conferred is down by 11.7 percent since 2004. For MIS, there were 133 degrees conferred in 2009, but the number of degrees conferred is down by 45 percent since 2004.

o Special note:Business Administration Management and Operations, Other – While this

area of study produced 290 degrees in 2008-09, the only provider was CMU. We checked the CMU website and this M.B.A. program is only offered online (has a logistics management

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concentration), while their on-campus M.B.A. program does not. The online programs are delivered by a CMU division that offers online programs and off-site programs at more than 60 locations in North America. The students earning the 290 degrees in this area of study online could have come from anywhere in North America, so this is not an accurate

representation of demand in the state of Michigan. We, therefore, are hesitant to recommend the development of a program in this area of study.

 Physician Assistant – This program shows some potential for development with a 5.3 percent increase in degrees conferred versus 2004 and total degrees conferred in 2009 of 119.

 Communications – While this area of study shows growth of 46.2 percent compared to 2004, the total number of degrees awarded was less than 100 for the competitor set. The competitor reviews also will need to more fully explore the specific program offerings, before we would recommend development of this program. At the moment, we are unsure of whether the focus of the programs is speech communication or if there are more applied areas of study, such as journalism and public relations to consider.

 Engineering – With a 29 percent decline in the number of degrees conferred versus 2004, we would be hesitant to recommend developing this program immediately. In the long term, and after

economic conditions have improved in Michigan, mechanical engineering may be a program to develop as it is a higher demand area of study with 335 degrees conferred in 2009. Our

recommendations for program development in this area of study will be dependent on our review of the competitors.

Other programs

 For other areas of study, it appears that there would be very strong opportunities to expand graduate programs in education and public administration, including health care administration/management. At least for public administration and health care administration/management, we think there are significant opportunities for UM-Flint to add programs and/or increase its share of the marketplace for students pursing these high demand areas of study.

Snapshot of degrees conferred for competitor set 2008-09

As an initial step in program development consideration, we recommend that UM-Flint focus on creating offerings in high and moderate demand areas of study.

Having noted the above, however, even though there is strong demand for studies in these areas of study, a comparison of degrees conferred in 2004 versus 2009 for this competitor set shows that there has been a decline in the number of degrees conferred in many of these top areas of study. Some of the decline may be attributed to economic conditions in Michigan and for education programs, perhaps a shift from education general to more specific or specialized areas of study.

Next, as you develop programs, we also recommend that you focus on practical issues of convenience of location for program delivery, the flexibility of delivery formats, and cost as these prospective-student program-choice priorities are going to impact enrollment growth as much as programmatic offerings. We will focus on these practical issues in the competitor reviews.

Finally, also noted that for current program offerings, UM-Flint is not the established leader for the most degrees conferred in any of the high- or moderate- demand areas of study meaning that there are likely opportunities to grow enrollment in your current programs by focusing on the practical matters of expanding delivery locations, offering additional flexibility of delivery options, better describing how programs are

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delivered and perhaps addressing cost and/or better establishing the value of your programs primarily though career outcomes information.

Tables for high and moderate demand areas of study are provided below. The full list of all Master’s degree programs has been provided in Excel spreadsheets along with this report for your ongoing analysis.

High demand

Institution Name UM-F OU MSU WSU CM U

UM-AA EMU GVSU UM-D SVSU MC

Competitor Set Total

Education General 91 72 274 124 343 73 889 1,866

Business Administration

and Management, General 91 132 150 307 48 762 45 91 37 1,663

Social Work 14 262 267 48 148 739

Special Education and

Teaching, General 87 28 35 2 5 79 83 64 383

Accounting 39 145 35 60 48 43 12 382

Public Administration 49 11 1 16 135 12 21 60 37 25 367

Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance

Services 135 52 39 79 28 23 356 Mechanical Engineering 55 25 65 124 66 335 Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration General 24 241 35 300 Reading Teacher Education 122 23 15 17 45 41 34 0 297 Business Administration Management and Operations Other 290 290 Health/Health Care Administration/ Management 166 101 1 10 278 Educational Leadership and Administration General 28 50 10 3 111 202 Library Science/Librarianship 200 200

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Moderate demand

UM-AA

EM

U GVSU UM-D SVSU MC

Curriculum and

Instruction 40 140 15 195

Secondary Education and

Teaching 32 101 4 7 18 23 185

Electrical Electronics and Communications Engineering 27 19 50 55 33 184 Business/Commerce General 106 75 181 Information Science/Studies 155 1 8 164 Teacher Education Multiple Levels 163 163

Elementary Education and

Teaching 17 94 5 3 32 151

Engineering Other 0 151 151

Engineering/Industrial

Management 19 9 31 47 41 147

Industrial Engineering 5 26 96 15 142

Computer and Information

Sciences General 14 27 14 37 22 22 136

Early Childhood

Education and Teaching 54 10 6 29 35 134

Management Information Systems General 4 88 41 133 Finance General 20 27 73 120 Physician Assistant 48 43 28 119 Educational/Instructional Media Design 61 45 10 116 Clinical/Medical Social Work 115 115 City/Urban Community

and Regional Planning 20 28 57 4 109

Biomedical/Medical Engineering 44 62 106 Organizational Behavior Studies 106 106 Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric 13 33 9 4 15 21 95 Educational Instructional and Curriculum Supervision 30 47 17 94

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UM-AA

EM

U GVSU UM-D SVSU MC

Public Health Education

and Promotion 3 0 82 3 88

Public Policy Analysis 3 77 6 86

Competitor set and national trend data for high and moderate degrees conferred 2004 to 2009

As noted earlier, many high- and moderate-demand areas of study show declines among this set of competitors and are moving counter to increases in the country for several of these areas. The areas with declines are highlighted in the table below.

For example, in terms of decline, Business Administration and Management General shows nearly an 11 percent decline for degrees conferred among the Michigan competitor set versus nearly a 31 percent increase in the country. Mechanical Engineering shows a 29 percent decrease among the competitor set versus a 5 percent increase in the county.

While overall demand remains high to moderate for all these programs, Michigan economic conditions have likely negatively impacted total degree production for these highlighted areas of study.

Competition for students with these interests is likely to be intense in Michigan for the foreseeable future. This means that UM-Flint should also address practical issues of delivery locations, flexible delivery options, and cost as previously noted for establishing new programs and an expansion of current program offerings.

Change in degrees conferred 2004 and 2009

Institution Name Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change

Total 0 0 0 #DIV/0! 0 0 0 #DIV/0!

Education General 1,866 3,705 -1,839 -49.6% 26,114 27,959 -1,845 -6.6% Business Administration and

Management General

1,663 1,860 -197 -10.6% 104,923 80,314 24,609 30.6%

Social Work 739 682 57 8.4% 19,077 16,545 2,532 15.3%

Special Education and Teaching General

383 185 198 107.0% 13,945 10,650 3,295 30.9%

Accounting 382 222 160 72.1% 11,415 8,017 3,398 42.4%

Public Administration 367 280 87 31.1% 9,902 8,118 1,784 22.0%

Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services

356 340 16 4.7% 12,611 12,288 323 2.6% Mechanical Engineering 335 472 -137 -29.0% 4,644 4,414 230 5.2% Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration General 300 431 -131 -30.4% 4,137 3,257 880 27.0%

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Institution Name Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change Business Administration

Management and Operations, Other

290 0 290 -- 4,515 3,421 1,094 32.0%

Health/Health Care

Administration/Management

278 351 -73 -20.8% 5,294 3,020 2,274 75.3%

Educational Leadership and Administration General

202 278 -76 -27.3% 20,694 15,893 4,801 30.2%

Library Science/Librarianship 200 236 -36 -15.3% 6,952 5,857 1,095 18.7% Curriculum and Instruction 195 272 -77 -28.3% 17,841 13,440 4,401 32.7% Secondary Education and Teaching 185 149 36 24.2% 9,364 6,340 3,024 47.7% Electrical Electronics and

Communications Engineering

184 276 -92 -33.3% 9,446 9,474 -28 -0.3%

Business/Commerce General 181 205 -24 -11.7% 10,713 9,662 1,051 10.9%

Information Science/Studies 164 101 63 62.4% 3,394 3,071 323 10.5%

Teacher Education Multiple Levels 163 37 126 340.5% 4,317 3,544 773 21.8%

Engineering Other 151 127 24 18.9% 1,193 1,184 9 0.8%

Elementary Education and Teaching 151 178 -27 -15.2% 17,073 17,425 -352 -2.0% Engineering/Industrial Management 147 161 -14 -8.7% 1,904 1,352 552 40.8% Industrial Engineering 142 154 -12 -7.8% 1,997 2,199 -202 -9.2%

Computer and Information Sciences General

136 323 -187 -57.9% 4,935 8,127 -3,192 -39.3%

Early Childhood Education and Teaching

134 152 -18 -11.8% 2,309 1,323 986 74.5%

Management Information Systems General 133 242 -109 -45.0% 4,405 7,268 -2,863 -39.4% Finance General 120 35 85 242.9% 5,268 5,032 236 4.7% Physician Assistant 119 113 6 5.3% 3,975 2,985 990 33.2% Educational/Instructional Media Design 116 104 12 11.5% 3,594 3,859 -265 -6.9%

Clinical/Medical Social Work 115 92 23 25.0% 259 246 13 5.3%

City/Urban Community and Regional Planning

109 77 32 41.6% 2,111 1,764 347 19.7%

Organizational Behavior Studies 106 54 52 96.3% 1,654 3,097 -1,443 -46.6%

Biomedical/Medical Engineering 106 88 18 20.5% 1,347 878 469 53.4%

Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric

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Institution Name Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change Educational Instructional and

Curriculum Supervision

94 113 -19 -16.8% 1,192 982 210 21.4%

Public Health Education and Promotion

88 59 29 49.2% 536 415 121 29.2%

Public Policy Analysis 86 70 16 22.9% 2,201 1,658 543 32.8%

Areas of study with largest numerical growth Institution Name Competitor Set 2009 Total Competitor Set 2004 Total Competitor Set Net Change Competitor Set Percent Change US 2009 Total US 2004 Total US Net Change US Percent Change Business Administration Management and Operations

Other 290 0 290 -- 4,515 3,421 1,094 32.0%

Special Education and

Teaching General 383 185 198 107.0% 13,945 10,650 3,295 30.9%

Accounting 382 222 160 72.1% 11,415 8,017 3,398 42.4%

Teacher Education Multiple

Levels 163 37 126 340.5% 4,317 3,544 773 21.8% Public Administration 367 280 87 31.1% 9,902 8,118 1,784 22.0% Finance General 120 35 85 242.9% 5,268 5,032 236 4.7% Natural Resources/Conservation General 73 5 68 1360.0% 390 340 50 14.7% Information Science/Studies 164 101 63 62.4% 3,394 3,071 323 10.5% Social Work 739 682 57 8.4% 19,077 16,545 2,532 15.3% Occupational Therapy/Therapist 79 26 53 203.8% 3,845 1,787 2,058 115.2% Organizational Behavior Studies 106 54 52 96.3% 1,654 3,097 -1,443 -46.6% Higher Education/Higher Education Administration 50 0 50 -- 2,065 676 1,389 205.5% Secondary School Administration/Principalship 40 0 40 -- 361 285 76 26.7%

Kinesiology and Exercise

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Competitor Website Reviews for

Targeted Programs

In this section of the report, we provide competitor reviews for the three institutions that award the most degrees in each area of study. We noted that your top competitor, Oakland University, was not being addressed with this approach, so we added an Oakland University website review for graduate programs in business and in engineering.

The reviews provide tables with specific information about program offerings, delivery formats, and costs as well as providing insights into the effectiveness of their websites and recruiting activities for attracting graduate students. In terms of website or recruiting activities, we highlight some specific examples for improvement in the initial reviews, but offer fewer examples later on to avoid repetition of similar recommendations. In general, the initial website enhancement recommendations provided in the introductory section of the report provide a good outline of improvements to make on the UM-Flint graduate program pages of your site.

Program comparison tables are provided in each section of the reviews. Please note that ―NR‖ in the tables refers to non-resident tuition rates.

Finally, when available and appropriate this review section also identifies ―other resources‖ to inform your program development planning discussions and/or future recruiting strategies to consider for these new programs.

Social Work Program Reviews

The three primary competitors selected for these reviews are as follows:

 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – 267 master’s degrees conferred in 2009

 Wayne State University – 262 master’s degrees conferred in 2009

 Grand Valley State University – 148 master’s degrees conferred in 2009

Per your request, we also reviewed the Master’s degree program in clinical/medical social work provided by Michigan State University. This program conferred 115 degrees in 2009 versus 92 in 2004 for an increase of 25 percent.

Findings in brief for Master’s in Social Work (MSW) programs

In developing your master’s degree program in social work, consider each of the following.

 Develop flexible delivery options as all competitors provide some types of full-time and part-time study options. Grand Valley State appears to provide the most flexible full-time and part-time study options and we recommend that UM-Flint strive to reach this school’s level of flexibility for program delivery. Addressing how to deliver a new graduate degree in social work will be essential for success for UM-Flint.

 It will be essential to provide an advanced standing option for students earning a bachelor’s degree in social work from Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited undergraduate programs as it reduces total credit hours from 60 to 45 (or lower) and, therefore, it reduces tuition costs and time to degree completion. Advance standing students appear to be high-quality and well-prepared students, so they are a highly desirable market of students to attract to your new program.

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 Determine if you will provide concentration options, as do two of the competitors; or an advanced generalist approach as does Grand Valley State.

 Consider focusing and promoting that your programs are designed to meet the needs of Michigan.

 UM-Flint can have a recruiting and marketing advantage by addressing the website enhancement recommendations provided in the introductory section of the report. The reviews highlight several of these points:

o Provide an entering class profile as does UM-AA

o Better describe and provide examples of field placement opportunities

o Make it easy for prospective students to contact admissions and program representatives

o Provide campus visit options including individual campus visit options

o Keep cost information simple (see Grand Valley State)

o Segment scholarship information into scholarships for entering students and those for continuing students. Define how students can obtain scholarships

 Finally, establish application deadlines for this program. Explore a rolling admissions process for at least the advanced standing students (if not all students) and, if implemented, also provide early advising and registration processes for accepted students. This may give you an advantage in the marketplace among these competitors.

Findings in brief for MSW Clinical/Medical Social Work

 As previously noted, this is a moderate demand area of study and Michigan State University (MSU) conferred 115 degrees in 2009.

 However, establishing a marketing or recruiting advantage for a new clinical/medical social work program developed by UM-Flint may be difficult as MSW already offers this degree at Mott

Community College in Flint. In addition, MSU provides hybrid statewide delivery of this program, so it is likely attracting students from all across the state to produce 115 conferred degrees.

 We recommend that you first establish a traditional MSW program including offering full-time and part-time study options and reduced credit programs for advanced standing students. After establishing those higher demand programs, then explore adding concentrations that address clinical/medical social work. Your study options in this area will need to match or exceed the flexible study options provided by MSU and/or provide better practicum experiences than this competitor, and/or be priced lower than this competitor to gain an advantage in the marketplace. Clinical/medical social work should be a lower priority for development at this time.

Program comparison table Institution

and school

Program and

credit hours Concentrations

Tuition per credit Delivery UM – AA School of Social Work MSW – 60 Advanced Standing – 45 Practice methods Community Organization Interpersonal Practice Management of Human Services

Social Policy and Evaluation Practice areas MI - $21,984 for FT, 2 semesters NR - $34,650 for FT, 2 semesters Per credit

16-month, full-time, includes summer for intense fieldwork 20-month, full-time, summer off and fieldwork is spread

Extended degree – first 30 credits PT, second 30 credits FT and continuous enrollment at Ann

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Institution and school

Program and

credit hours Concentrations

Tuition per

credit Delivery

Aging in Families and Society

Children and Youth in Families and Society Community and Social Systems Health Mental Health

tuition costs are not provided

Arbor. Must complete the degree in 4 years. Limited enrollment Fifth term option – 60 credits over 5 terms. Financial assistance not available for 5th term

Wayne State University School of Social Work MSW – 60 Advanced Standing – not described Interpersonal – with additional tracks

Community Practice and Social Action – with additional tracks

Tuition unclear. We assume the following: MI - $478.85 per credit hours NR - $1,057.50 per credit hour

2 year (4 semesters), full-time, structured and sequenced 4 year (10 semesters) part-time, planned, structured, and limited enrollment

Unexplained advanced standing program for BSW students Grand Valley State University MSW – 60 Advanced Standing – 45 No specific

concentrations, they use an Advanced Generalist program model MI - $471 per credit NR - $646 per credit FT – 2 year PT – 3 or 4 year model Advanced standing

FT – 1 year, summer start, fall, winter – continuous

PT – 2 year, start any semester Michigan State University College of Social Sciences and School of Social Work MSW – 57 Advanced Standing - 38 Clinical Practice Organizational and Community Practice MI - $531.75 per credit NR - $1044.50 per credit FT – 2 year PT – 3 or 4 years Advanced standing FT – 1 year,

PT – 2 years and start in July Multiple delivery locations including Flint plus statewide blended online/classroom and weekend delivery models (see review)

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Programs and Delivery Formats

The MSW program is delivered by their School of Social Work. The School provides some flexible delivery options with 16 month, 20 month, extended degree (first half part-time, second half full-time), and an option to spread the required 60 credit hours over a fifth term, but financial aid is not provided for the fifth term. They provide a helpful calendar that outlines each study option and shows when fieldwork is integrated into those plans at http://ssw.umich.edu/programs/msw/curriculum/schedules.html.

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Students take courses at the Ann Arbor campus only, and they do not offer any courses online. They mention ―some‖ courses are available in the evening and some ―mini’ courses are offered on weekends, but our sense is most courses occur during the day. Even with the course delivery options, our sense is that students are primarily attending full time and are continuously enrolled. The blended part-time and full-time plan has limited enrollment.

 UM-Flint would have a recruiting advantage over this competitor if it provided more flexible delivery options.

In addition to the delivery options noted above, they offer an advanced standing program for BSW students that reduce the total credit hours to 45 versus 60. However, this program seems to be integrated with their Peace Corps master’s international program that requires 27 months service. They do not define the advanced standing program very well.

Their concentration options combine practice methods and practice area options and students select a concentration in both areas. The focus of their program is on practice. No thesis is required for this program. They offer several dual degree options, but this does not appear to be the focus of their programs.

They state that enrollment starts in the fall only and that new student enrollment is about 300. The ―frequently asked questions‖ section of the site notes that they typically receive 700 to 900 applications, but in 2010 they received 1,100 applications, which tends to confirm that this is a high demand and growing area of study.

 Demand is increasing for this program as reflected in increasing applications.

The School of Social Work provides an entering class profile on their site at

http://ssw.umich.edu/admissions/msw/2010MSWClassProfile.pdf. Two-thirds of their students are 25 or younger, most choose the 16-month study option, and most choose concentration options in interpersonal practice and children and youth in families and society. They attract students from across the country to their program.

 UM-Flint could have a recruiting advantage over this competitor by intentionally focusing its program offering on meeting the needs of the state of Michigan.

In terms of admissions, they have an early application option, with a December 1 deadline, and they notify most students of their decisions by March 1, however, some students are placed on a waitlist. The regular application deadline is March 1.

 UM-Flint would have a recruiting advantage over this school by making admissions decisions earlier and/or on a rolling basis.

Cost information is less helpful. Tuition and fees are shown as full-time semester based costs versus the terms approach used by this school. Students would need to go to the Registrar’s Office site at

http://www.ro.umich.edu/tuition/ for more detailed information, but even there, tuition information is confusing and it does not integrate in fees. Tuition for the spring/summer term for Michigan students is $5,913 and for nonresidents it is $9,493. It appears that total tuition for four terms (fall, winter, spring/summer, and fall) for a Michigan students would be about $43,648 to earn this degree.

 UM-Flint would have a recruiting advantage by making cost information easy to understand.

This school supports their program with merit scholarships and grants. The ―frequently asked questions‖ section of the site noted that 90 percent of students receive grant or scholarship assistance.

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Website Effectiveness

This is a fairly good website for descriptions of program and delivery options. As previously noted, however, they are weak at cost information. This School of Social Work site does not enable students to request information, which is a weakness.

This School offers twice-per-month information sessions and it enables students to plan individual campus visits. During individual visits, students meet with admissions representatives, program advisors, eat with students, and tour the facilities. Having noted these visit strengths, however, most of these points are covered in the ―frequently asked questions‖ of their site meaning they are not effectively promoting visit opportunities and students cannot sign up online for visits.

 UM-Flint would have a recruiting advantage over this school by better promoting campus visit options, enabling students to sign up online, hosting regularly scheduled information sessions, and enabling students to plan well-organized individual campus visits.

The other major weaknesses of their site are that they do not provide downloadable program brochures or student testimony and they do not adequately address career outcome information; instead they promote career services.

 UM-Flint would have a recruiting advantage by providing PDF program brochures, more specific career outcome information and continuing to upgrade student profiles and testimony on its site. We also recommend that you provide an entering class profile as previously noted in the review.

Wayne State University

Programs and Delivery Formats

The School of Social Work provides a two-year full-time MSW program with concentrations in interpersonal practice, and community practice and social action. Beyond this very basic program description, they do not provide any insights into how the program is delivered or specifics about required courses.

At the bottom of a long MSW page of information, they mention but do not describe, a four-year planned and structured part-time enrollment program with limited enrollment and an advanced standing program for B.S.W. students and this option also is not described.

The best descriptions of their delivery formats and program options are provided in the ―frequently asked questions‖ of their site and examples are provided below. Note that after digging around their site for a while we found links to curriculum outlines for the full-time, part-time, and advanced standing programs at

http://socialwork.wayne.edu/pdf/pow_for_web_20092_.pdf.

 UM-Flint would have a recruiting advantage over this institution simply by better defining programs and delivery options, providing greater flexibility than this school, providing downloadable program brochures, and addressing other basics such as student testimony, career outcomes information, and entering class profile information.

A thesis is not required for the master’s degree program and their focus is on practice in an urban setting. This school also offers a doctoral program, a pre-doctoral post-Master’s program, and post-Master’s graduate certificate options.

Examples of descriptions from their frequently asked questions

Does the school offer evening, weekend or online classes? Yes, we offer evening, Saturday, online & hybrid courses primarily for part-time students. Full-time students are expected to enroll in day classes but

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may register for the evening sections. In the advanced year, some courses offerings are available in Macomb, Wayne, and Oakland County.

How many credits do students take to fulfill requirements for the MSW degree and how long does it

take to complete the MSW? Those students who are enrolled in the MSW program full time will complete

60 credit hours over four semesters or two years. MSW part-time students will complete the required 60 credit hours over 10 semesters or four years. Those students coming in with the BSW and enrolled in the Pre-candidate Master’s with Advanced Standing program will take 38 credit hours over three semesters or 10 months while students enrolled in the part-time program will complete 38 credit hours over six semesters or two years.

Interpersonal Practice Concentration focuses on preparation for direct Social Work practice in a range of social service settings. Students choose one theory and practice track: Family Systems, Psychodynamic or Cognitive Behavioral. Students can also choose a special interest area: families-at-risk, child welfare, substance abuse, schools, inpatient and outpatient mental health, health care, or aging/gerontology. Courses in this concentration support interventions that enhance the social functioning of client groups and address a range of social problems, including strains in family life, physical illness, life transitions, adjustment reactions and chemical dependency. Examples of field sites include schools, family mediation clinics, family service agencies, hospitals, transitional residences and outpatient mental health clinics.

Community Practice and Social Action focuses on interventions in social agencies, institutions and neighborhoods of the community and society to enhance the quality of life. Students will be in practicums which relate to urban social planning, community development, comprehensive community mental health planning and development, coordination and planning for the aged, juvenile justice, social change and political internships. Examples of sites for Social Work employment include community-based organizations, social welfare planning agencies, planning departments in governmental units, advocacy organizations, political offices and human resource departments

Website Effectiveness

The School of Social Work does not have an effective website. In addition to the basic program and delivery format gaps in information, this site does not provide links to information about costs, and the tuition and fees schedules on the site do not mention social work at http://reg.wayne.edu/pdf-tuition/tuition-fee-chart-fall-2010.pdf. Our assumption is that graduate social work students pay the graduate school tuition rates of Michigan: $478.85 per credit hours for residents and $1,057.50 per credit hours for the nonresidents. It is unclear whether the MSW program is coordinated via the graduate school or the School of Social Work. The School of Social Work confuses the situation by having its own application for admissions and listing its programs outside those provided by the graduate school.

Assuming the tuition fees noted above are correct, at 60 credit hours, Michigan students pay $28,731 in tuition fees to complete the MSW and nonresidents would pay $63,450. These tuition charges do not include other fees.

The site indicates that the School of Social Work provides bi-weekly information sessions, but the links provided to information about these programs does not work. Campus visit links simply provide parking information and driving directions. This school does not provide opportunities to request information or contact admissions, academic advisors, or program representatives.

The school lists numerous scholarship award opportunities, with no details about amounts, and it appears that students first have to be admitted to the program before they can apply for scholarships because the

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application form requires a student identification number. Students also must individually check off each scholarship for which they wish to be considered. This is not a prospective-student-friendly scholarship process.

The deadline for application for the MSW program is December 1. The deadline for BSW. students seeking application to the under-explained advanced standing program have until June 1 to apply.

 UM-Flint can have a recruiting advantage over this school simply by providing better prospective students information and services, as well as by enhancing basic program information.

In terms of messaging, this school promotes that it is among the nation’s leaders in preparing students for professional practice and the graduate admissions office promotes being one of the largest graduate programs in the nation. Additional notes on the school’s site promote a focus on practice and on urban services. Most of these points are not integrated into program descriptions or sufficiently supported or explored. We noted that neither Wayne State or the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor explore field placements in detail or provide lists of where students have done field placements.

 UM-Flint can have a marketing and recruiting advantage by integrating and supporting core

messages into program descriptions, explaining field placement options in more detail, and providing examples of field placements.

Grand Valley State University Programs and Delivery Formats

The MSW program is delivered by the School of Social Work. This school does a better job of providing easy-to-understand and helpful information about their program and you should check their site at

http://www.gvsu.edu/grad/msw/.

The home page promotes pertinent field practicum experiences, a convenient location at their center in downtown Grand Rapids, flexible full-time and part-time study options, and accreditation.

The MSW degree requires 60 credit hours and uses an advanced generalist model, rather than providing multiple concentrations. Full-time students can complete the degree in two years and part-time students can complete the degree in three- or four-year models.

Their advanced standing program for B.S.W. students from accredited undergraduate programs reduces the MSW degree requirements from 60 to 45 credit hours. Advanced standing students can complete the degree studying full time for one year (summer start only, and then fall and winter–continuous enrollment) or part-time in two years by starting any semester.

The Grand Valley State delivery options are more flexible than the two previously reviewed schools. The School of Social Work does a fairly good job describing time-to-degree and location information, but they still lag in describing how many courses per term, the length of the term, or the times at which classes meet.

 UM-Flint should consider developing delivery models as flexible as those provided by Grand Valley State University, and you could have a recruiting advantage by addressing the details about how your program is delivered as noted in the website recommendations in the introductory section of this report.

Next, this school also provides easy-to-understand cost information showing that tuition is $471 per credit for Michigan residents and $646 for nonresidents. At 60 credits, the total tuition cost for the MSW would be $28,260 for Michigan students and $38,760 for nonresidents. Advanced standing students from Michigan

University of Michigan-Flint Flint, Michigan

Prepared by Eric Sickler | Associate Vice President | eric.sickler @stamats.com

Prepared by Eric Sickler | Associate Vice President | eric.sickler @stamats.com

Prepared by Eric Sickler | Associate Vice President | eric.sickler @stamats.com

Prepared by Eric Sickler | Associate Vice President | eric.sickler @stamats.com

Prepared by Eric Sickler | Associate Vice President | eric.sickler @stamats.com

Jim Reilly | Senior Marketing Consultant | jim.reilly@stamats.com

615 Fifth Street SE/P.O. Box 1888 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-1888

(319) 364-6167 | (800) 553-8878 | Fax (319) 365-5421 | www.stamats.com

University of Michigan-Flint

Flint, Michigan

Graduate Program Development Study

Contents

Introduction ... 3

National, State, and Related Data ... 5

Competitor Degree Completion Data Analysis ... 14

Competitor Website Reviews for Targeted Programs .... 21

Other Areas of Study... 63

Executive Summary ... 82

Introduction

National, State, and Related Data

Competitor Degree Completion Data

Analysis

Competitor Website Reviews for

Targeted Programs

Social Work Program Reviews