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Where to Find Higher Ed Data

By: Glen McCandless

1/1/2009

The CDF data have been extracted and edited from annual reports that colleges and universities are required to submit to the US Department of Education. CDF data can be easily imported into widely used CRM and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to supplement customer account information. Sales reps can use CDF data to learn more about their accounts-- FTE vs. headcount enrollment and student traffic in key fields as reflected by the earned degree data. The enrollment and staffing data are invaluable when you need a reliable number for sitelicensing agreements.

"Marketing executives and sales managers use the CDF data to aid and inform their strategic planning and market mapping efforts, and to find new markets for their products and services," says Kenneth (Casey) Green, director of the Campus Computing Project. "Information in the CDF often provides new insights about specific campuses, helps to identify new categories of institutional clients or specific kinds of students."

CDF can be purchased directly from Casey Green. Or, full disclosure, my company, sellingtoschools.com, is an authorized dealer of CDF.

Annual Campus Computing Report

If you sell technology products and services to colleges and universities, the annual Campus Computing Report, also from the Campus Computing Project, can be a critical resource for key data. Begun in 1990, Campus Computing is the largest continuing study of computing, information technology, and e-learning in American higher education. The annual Campus Computing Report, based on a national survey of CIOs at some 600 colleges and universities across the United States, is widely cited by both campus officials and corporate executives as a definitive source for data, information, and insight about key IT planning and policy issues that affect colleges and universities-- and that also affect IT product and service providers doing business in the campus market. Current and past reports are available at campuscomputing.net.

In addition to these studies, professional associations that serve higher education faculty and administrators-- whose trade shows you probably attend, like EDUCAUSE, The League for Innovation in the Community College, the National Association of College Stores (NACS), the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), and many more-- provide segmentspecific data and information, much of which is free.

These are just a few examples of resources you can use to become a better data-driven sales professional and to direct your activities toward the best opportunities. There are many list providers, publications, and government agencies that research the post-secondary market and publish data-too many to profile in this article. You can find a good listing of data sources and purchase some of the reports and studies I referenced at my company's web site.