Last month the Maryland-based Art & Science Group conducted quantitative research with Ohio Wesleyan’s prospective students to answer the following questions:

• What is Ohio Wesleyan’s current competitive position?
• How might the ideas presented in OWU’s strategic plan impact prospective students? Are some expressions or extrapolations of these ideas more powerful than others?
• What flexibility does OWU have in its price/aid policies?

I am going to spare some of the findings to keep this entry generally positive.

While many of the findings are not very surprising to the OWU community they do send some strong messages to various people at OWU. To the folks interested in strengthening Greek Life (what a ludicrious idea!), the Arts and Sciences study simply says "You are interested in strengthing Greek Life without weakening the student profile? Think again..."

The findings by the group conclude that in terms of student selectivity and largest positive impact would come from adopting:
 

• The “all participate” level of the Theory into Practice Model, which describes hands-on learning as a defining pedagogical principle. If all prospects believed it to be true of OWU, it could increase demand to the equivalent of 15-20% more students.

• The “extensive” level of International Awareness, which describes a campus with a greater emphasis on international issues than most colleges. If all prospects believed it to be true of OWU, it could increase demand to the equivalent of 30% more students.
   

It is important to note that while both of these initiatives have a positive impact on prospective students, the subpopulations they affect are quite different. International Awareness most attracts higher-scoring and higher-income students, while the Theory into Practice model draws most among lower-income students.