A free benchmarking service introduced last year as a benefit for CIC member colleges and universities will again be provided in 2005 and 2006 with updated data. The Key Indicators Tool (KIT) provides comparative institutional data that can assist in institutional decision-making and is prepared by the Austen Group exclusively for CIC member institutions, using data available from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
      The KIT allows an institution to compare itself with other institutions (1) on 16 key indicators, (2) over a five-year period, (3) with similar institutions nationally, and (4) with other institutions in the same geographic region, of similar institutional size, and with similar financial resources. The 16 indicators, presented in Excel charts, include four measures of student enrollment, two indices of faculty staffing levels, and ten financial indicators that focus on tuition revenue and financial aid, as well as resources and expenditures. The KIT update will be provided electronically to each president in June 2005, and each president can decide which individuals or groups on campus will also have access to it.
      The KIT has been very well received, according to Michael Williams, president of the Austen Group. “The format and the content seem to make intuitive sense to college and university presidents and that was our goal from the beginning. They are our audience. The 16 indicators that we chose are clearly of interest, though that number could grow and the specific indicators could change based upon responses and suggestions we receive.”
      The value of the KIT lies in providing a framework for presidents and other campus officials to understand and discuss institutional challenges, Williams said. “For one institution, the issue might be tuition price, for another the discount rate, for another the graduation rate. The various indicators and the perspectives provided by the region, financial resources, and size comparisons for each indicator enabled us to view and discuss the issues important to the presidents from multiple perspectives.” The two most common uses of the KIT, according to Williams, have been as a tool to discuss the position of the college or university with senior administrators and to present important information about the institution’s relative position to board members.
      Williams offered a few tips for presidents and other campus administrators on how to use the KIT most effectively:

     CIC expects to enhance the Key Indicators Tool over time. Possible enhancements include additional pages for each of the 16 key indicators that compare the institution to the median of a comparison group selected by the institution, and a “consultation add-on,” allowing presidents and their administrative teams to look at the KIT with a neutral but informed outside consultant.
      And, as before, CIC and the Austen Group will continue to provide technical support free of charge. The 2005 version of the KIT will be e-mailed to presidents in June.