State Higher Education Executive Officers Choose SAS(R) for Data Analysis and Reporting.

Software To Help Policymakers Identify Priorities, Increase Performance in State Higher Ed

LAS VEGAS -- The State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), the association for the chief executive officers serving statewide governing and coordinating boards of higher education, selected the SAS Enterprise Intelligence Suite for Education to support its Higher Education Policy Profile project. According to Hans P. L'Orange, Vice President for Research and Information Resources, SHEEO chose software from SAS, the leader in business intelligence, for its ability to quickly gather, analyze and report on data.

"Reliable and current information is critical to states' efforts to sustain and improve systems of higher education," said L'Orange. "Our goal is to provide state agencies with additional data and information to support the important decisions specific to their state needs. We hope to use SAS to gather, analyze and present information through Policy Profiles, which are tailored to each state. SAS offers the combination of data management and information presentation tools, including Web reporting, that we require."

Policy Profiles will help political, higher education and civic leaders identify relevant needs and roles for higher education in their state, support appropriate goals and strategies, and enhance the policy infrastructure, professional capacity, and public support necessary to sustain progress over time. They will provide objective indicators to encourage interpretation and discussion.

Approximately 30 different indicators are under consideration in the following critical component areas: Enrollment, Resource Allocation, Institutional and System Productivity, and Outcomes.

Data from multiple sources will be integrated to provide an analysis of a state's higher education environment. The Policy Profiles will draw from various data sources, incorporate SAS analytic tools and be adaptable for use in all states. The system will enable state-level predictive and descriptive modeling, forecasting and simulation to support better decision making. Routine reports and ad hoc presentations will allow a wide range of constituents to achieve a common understanding of higher-education policy issues.

"Good data and analyses are central to developing and sustaining a public agenda for higher education; an agenda that helps policymakers, institutional leadership, and the public at large focus on the changing needs and roles for higher education in society and the economy," said L'Orange.

The SAS Enterprise Intelligence Suite for Education is a comprehensive solution tailored to meet the needs of today's colleges and universities, including student recruitment and retention, financial intelligence, human capital management, procurement management and overall institutional effectiveness. It brings together the knowledge necessary for making informed decisions, taking higher education institutions beyond the reporting of historical data with the power of predictive analytics.

"The use of business intelligence and analytical technology is spreading quickly in the academic world," said Kathy Lee, General Manager of the SAS Education Practice. "SHEEO's Higher Education Policy Profiles project is a perfect opportunity to apply the power of SAS BI, and the organization can feel confident in the ability to analyze and present the critical data needed to meet its goals."

With more than 2,000 college, university and business school customers in 109 countries and dedicated education specialists on every continent, SAS is dedicated to serving the education industry by delivering software solutions, strategic services and academic programs that are designed to spark innovation and expand educational opportunities.

Today's announcement was made at The Premier Business Leadership Series presented by SAS, a business conference in Las Vegas that brings together more than 1,000 attendees from the public and private sector to share ideas and knowledge on critical business management issues.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business intelligence and analytical software and services. Customers at 43,000 sites use SAS software to improve performance through insight from data, resulting in faster, more accurate business decisions; more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; compliance with governmental regulations; research breakthroughs; and better products and processes. Only SAS offers leading data integration, storage, analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW([R]). www.sas.com

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