Academic Planning Research

Explore our most popular resources on instructional resource allocation, measuring student progress, and more.

Academic Vital Signs

This resource outlines 14 analyses to guide department-level strategy, root-cause diagnostic tools for academic unit leaders, and guidance for implementing regular departmental review processes. More

Maximum Capacity Toolkit

This toolkit helps members improve fill rate accuracy with guidance to diagnose factors contributing to unreliable max caps, as well as strategies to build and implement an effective max cap policy. More

10 “no-regrets” analyses

In partnership with the Gates Foundation, EAB identified 10 analyses that isolate the key drivers of academic costs, pinpoint opportunities for savings, and allow department leaders to better meet future student demand. More

Cost-Quality Trade-Off

The era of “quality at any cost” has come to an end in the face of declining state support and flattening net tuition revenues. This study explores how, with the right tools, academic leaders can continue to enhance quality by reallocating resources from lower impact activities to higher impact, mission-aligned priorities. More

Course Completion Playbook

This resource describes the four key steps to increase course completion rates and reduce failure rates without sacrificing academic rigor. More

Instructional Capacity Playbook

This playbook details 14 best-practice strategies for responding to changes in the enrollment landscape. More

Program Review Resource Center

At many institutions, program review is an underproductive exercise. Review of existing programs is often a check-the-box formality, with inconsistent criteria and little connection to institutional priorities or funding considerations. This report profiles how academic planning exemplars use program review as a strategic tool, integrating data on academic quality, student demand, and resource utilization to improve the economics of challenged programs and prioritize programs for investment and expansion. More

Smart Growth

This report—a joint research initiative between our academic affairs and business affairs research programs—profiles smart growth strategies of top institutions that maximize their instructional capacity based on a thorough analysis of capacity, costs, and student demand at the level of academic programs and individual courses. More

Examining Drivers of Instructional Cost

This brief examines drivers of departmental instructional costs per attempted student credit hour to help academic leaders detect unexpected financial outliers at the discipline level and identify factors that contribute to those outliers. More

What’s the real cost of independent study?

Read this expert insight to learn why you should routinize independent study reviews. More