Track: Project Management

Abstract

Higher education institutions today operate in an environment characterized, among other factors, by limited financial resources, stringent academic accreditation requirements, and heightened student expectations in terms of the expected time-to-degree, convenience/flexibility, and variety of choice in course offerings. In this talk, we investigate heuristic approaches for planning an appropriate mix of future courses to be offered in non-lockstep programs. Subject to a maximum time limit, such programs permit students to take alternative pathways and timelines to the degree based on their personal interests, time and cost pressures, and workplace or family commitments. Assuming that a long-range plan for course cycling is already in place at the institution, this paper solely focuses on techniques to modify such plans for the near-term based on an analysis of the progress of currently active cohorts with regard to time (delay) and cost (overrun).  Using novel definitions of the well-known project performance measures (earned value, planned value, and actual cost) applicable to the educational context, we derive estimates of expected time-to-degree and expected cost for each cohort.  Based on these computations, we are able to recommend guidelines for heuristically adjusting the long-range course cycling plan.