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Track: Universities and Higher Education

Jim Herries
Esri of Redlands
380 New York Street
Redlands, CA 92373


Telephone: 909-793-2853 x2489
Fax: 909-307-3014
E-mail: jherries@Esri.com



Duane F. Marble

Geodemographic Analysis and GIS Technology in College and University Admissions Planning  Paper Text

Today, admissions planning in much of higher education rests upon a desire to structure the institution's incoming student stream in light of stated quantity, quality, and diversity objectives. The resources available to accomplish this are limited and the planning and execution of recruiting activities must be accomplished within a constrained schedule. Demographic stratification, designed to identify potential students who are likely to enroll, has been a useful tool. While the existence of a strong geographic component in student attendance at institutions of higher education is known (e.g., decline in the number of enrollees as a function of distance from the institution, the impact of competing institutions found closer to the potential student, the spatial distribution of the potential student population), there has been little application of modern spatial analysis approaches, nor has effective use been made of modern GIS technology in admissions planning. When both modern spatial analysis and GIS technology are brought to bear, significant insights into the student recruitment process can be developed. This paper explores a suggested methodology for leveraging inexpensive GIS software, existing geographically referenced data sources, locally developed geocoded student information, and existing spatial analysis techniques. The resulting integrated toolkit provides a detailed demographic and geographic view of the existing and potential student body that provides an effective basis for strategic enrollment planning.



Copyright 1997 Environmental Systems Research Institute