The AIR Professional File
Spring 2021, Article 152
The Use of a Viability Index as a Better Measure of Departmental and Program Strength
Andrew L. Luna, Sherry Kendrick, and Melissa Johnson
https://doi.org/10.34315/apf1522021
Abstract
Although many institutions and government agencies count degrees as the sole measure of determining departmental or program viability, this method fails to consider other factors such as how many students who are within programs are present to replace students who graduated from those programs or how many credit hours were generated in the area. This article highlights an easy-to-create, ratio-driven metric that can help an academic department or program to determine its overall strength.
Keywords: program viability, ratios, program prioritization, academic affairs, finance
Additional Information
Authors
Andrew L. Luna, Austin Peay State University
Sherry Kendrick, Austin Peay State University
Melissa Johnson, Austin Peay State University
Copyright © Association for Institutional Research 2021