Simulating student flow through a college of business for policy and structural change analysis

Under the pressure of sharp budget cuts and external demands for better performance, public institutions of higher education must examine how they can facilitate student graduation even as institutional resources diminish. This paper describes a computer model simulating the movement of undergraduates through a large, public college of business. The model allows changes in curriculum policy, prerequisite structure, and staffing capacity to be tested prior to implementation. Outcome measures focus primarily on the expected time to degree of two types of students who enter the university, first-time freshmen and upper division transfers, along with their respective 6-year and 4-year graduation rates. The validated model is used to experiment with both actual and potential scenarios facing the college and gauge their possible impact.