Reporting & Analytics: articles for IR teams
Benchmarking, reporting, and analytics practices for IR and IE professionals in higher education.
Inside 8,796 comments on the STATS rule: what higher ed actually told the Department
A deep-dive atlas of every public comment on the Department of Education's "Do No Harm" / STATS earnings-accountability proposal. Counts, themes, campaigns, pull-quotes, emotional register, and the implementation changes the sector is asking for before the first February 2027 results.
Wilson Bright · 16 mins readFVT/GE is ending: what the final 2026 reporting year means for your STATS transition
October 1, 2026 is the last FVT/GE submission under the old regime. Here is exactly what carries over to STATS, what does not, and the four things IR teams should do between now and the first Earnings Premium results.
Wilson Bright · 10 mins readFrom OBBB to Earnings Premium: how the new Workforce Pell accountability math actually works
The One Big Beautiful Bill created a new earnings-accountability regime for higher ed. Here is the line from OBBB to STATS to the Earnings Premium formula, and the 2-of-3 eligibility math, in plain English, with a worked example.
Wilson Bright · 10 mins readYour STATS exposure map: triage your programs before February 2027
ED publishes the first official Earnings Premium results in February 2027. Here's how to map your program-level exposure now, score, stress-test the two-of-three-years window, and plan substitution paths, before the results land in public.
Wilson Bright · 10 mins readThe 50% rule: how a handful of weak certificates can put your whole institution on provisional status
STATS introduced an institutional-level consequence that didn't exist under FVT/GE: if more than 50% of an institution's Title IV funds or recipients sit in failing programs, the entire institution goes on provisional status. Here's how to model your exposure before the cabinet asks.
Wilson Bright · 9 mins readSTATS vs FVT/GE vs PPD: What's the Difference?
STATS, FVT/GE, and PPD all describe pieces of the same federal accountability regime under OBBBA. Here's a plain-English explainer of what each term means and how they fit together.
Wilson Bright · 8 mins readWho's Growing Through Dual Enrollment? A Side-by-Side Benchmark of Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions
IPEDS 2023–2024 data reveals four-year institutions growing 3x faster in dual enrollment than community colleges, while community colleges carry 32.4% structural reliance. A full side-by-side benchmark.
Clema Research Team · 8 mins readWhat IR Teams Really Benchmark: Evidence from 50 Interviews
Discover what IR teams actually benchmark most often, from student outcomes and faculty metrics to aspirational peer lists, based on evidence from 50 institutional research interviews.
Clema Research Team · 10 mins read