Benchmarking Project

NACCU Benchmarking Project

Update: June 2010

Survey is Live!

Article quick links:

NACCU Benchmarking Survey is Online and Ready

The Campus Card industry is over 40 years old, yet, in many ways, it is considered an emerging industry in the eyes of campus administrators. In these economic times, administrators are looking toward new methods to justify expenses, programs, and returns on investments. As a campus card administrator, have you ever wondered or even been asked:

· How other campus card programs are structured?

· If other campus card programs have similar responsibilities?

· If you have adequate staffing compared to other institutions?

· Could the card program engage in an expanded role in the campus?

· What institutions are in your peer group?

· How your peers are operating?

· How to substantiate the card program’s value to the campus?

NACCU members manage diverse services and programs, many at an enterprise level, and have become a cultural anchor on most campuses. However, it needs to be shared with the world (and our campuses) what the Campus Card/Transaction industry is all about. The NACCU Benchmarking Project aims to answer these questions and more.

What are the goals of the Benchmarking Project?

1. Establish a set of standards of excellence by which members can measure their unique programs to create goals and service offerings for our institutions.

2. Identify peer groupings within the membership as comparators for staffing, equipment, training and other resources.

3. Promote awareness of the benefits a Campus Card/Transaction program offers an academic institution.

4. Elevate the Campus Card/Transaction Professionals within the institution.

How can you participate?

NACCU’s Benchmarking Survey is a result of eighteen months of research and development that serves as the foundation for data gathering for the Campus Card/Transaction industry. This groundbreaking study will allow you to compare your program to other member institution’s programs which may be similar to yours, referred to as Peer Groups. Your involvement in this research is essential to provide data to represent a meaningful cross section of our membership. Your institution can be included in a Peer Group, and other analyses, only if you participate. The Survey is ready and waiting for your participation.

What information is requested within the Survey?

The online Benchmarking Survey consists of three sections:

1. The first set of data gathered is publicly available information on your institution and local community environment. Section 1 information was collected by the project team so you will not see these questions on the online survey. Included in the first stage was information such as the number of enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, number of faculty/staff, public/private, annual tuition, city/state, and local community size.

2. Section 2 (PROGRAM QUESTIONS) consists of data unique to your specific program and will be the first section of the online survey. The questions in Section 2 focus on your card/transaction services, transaction counts (not dollars), staffing, training, and campus integrations. Section 2 data is the heart of the benchmarking analysis for the industry and allows the project team to identify your specific peer grouping.

3. Section 3 (TECHNOLOGY VIEWPOINTS) is a series of attitudinal questions about technology. It is the final section of the online survey and allows the project team to identify areas of perceived strengths and barriers within our institutions. Collecting this data will allow NACCU to identify industry needs and allocate educational resources.

Are there tips or notes for completing the Survey?

1. NACCU recommends you print and complete the survey Data Collection Worksheet before initiating your responses to the survey. The Worksheet lists the services and transaction counts you will need in order to complete the survey. The Worksheet can be found at www.naccu.org/NACCU_Benchmark_Spreadsheet.xls

2. The individual results and analysis of the study will be available to all members of NACCU.

3. You may choose to review the entire series of questions prior to initiating the survey which can be found at www.naccu.org/NACCU_Benchmarking_Survey_Preview.pdf

4. Please note transaction counts are requested for this survey and not dollar amounts. Transaction counts are the first step in the data collection process. Successful completion of this study will provide essential information that will allow for additional benchmark projects in the future, including delving into financials for a card/transaction office. Additionally, costs for a service should be adjusted based on the region of the country for accurate comparison and this brings an added complexity to the analysis.

5. NACCU acknowledges the diversity of the programs and office structures within its membership, which also bring challenges in the analysis phase. This first survey concentrates on how Campus Card/Transaction Programs utilize their card system server(s) and dedicated staff. However, this survey contains a series of questions concerning additional services and programs which will aid in developing future surveys and studies on behalf of the association and the membership.

What is the history behind the Benchmarking Survey project?

The idea of establishing benchmarking data for the industry has been around for many years. In October 2008, the NACCU Board of Directors moved to take action toward this immense project. Establishing benchmarks to guide an emerging campus enterprise level system required both expertise from within the industry, as well as experts trained for data gathering and analysis. Looking within the higher education environment, NACCU partnered with the academic community. The NACCU Education Committee and Board have represented the campus card industry while graduate students from the University of Alabama’s Manderson Graduate School of Business represent our academic partner for research and analysis.

Leading the academic side of the project has been Frank Adams, a doctoral student from The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. Frank and his team first spent time researching the scope and diversity of our industry. The initial research led to Phase I which identified the prominent features of the industry and common denominators within our membership.

Phase I consisted of an environmental scan where 107 NACCU institutional members were randomly selected for inclusion. Publicly available information sources were utilized for institutional data for such items as public/private institution, annual tuition, city/state, local community size, number of enrolled undergraduate/graduate students and number of faculty/staff. The environmental scan also included information directly related to the institution’s Campus Card/Transaction program such as services offered and reporting channel. When available, this information was gathered from the school’s website. Verification for this set of data was made directly with each institution included in the scan. Phase I data gathering was completed June 2009.

Using those results, the academic project team ran a test analysis for clustering schools by peer groupings. Additionally, the team was able to determine what data collected did not factor statistically and therefore was not brought forth to the Benchmark Survey. We offer a sincere thank you to those institutions that assisted in this phase of the project.

The team then created the Benchmark Survey instrument. Working with the Education Committee and NACCU Board, the questions were first tested online February 2010. From those results, the survey format and questions were revised where needed and a pilot group of 100 NACCU members was established to ensure our test group was broad and representative of our industry. The pilot group’s participation allowed the project team to verify that the format and questions worked across a diverse group. Their responses were analyzed and the peer grouping results shared at the Annual Conference. NACCU deeply appreciate those members who responded.

As part of the project’s communications outreach, Frank Adams presented a status report on the Benchmarking Project at a General Session during the 2010 NACCU Annual Conference. Frank’s presentation gave a comprehensive view of the benchmarking project plus the peer grouping results from the pilot group. For those who were unable to attend the Conference, Frank will present on this subject via a NACCU web conference Tuesday, June 15, 2010 (there is a $50 registration fee). Click here to register for the Web Conference. For those who register for the Web Conference, we encourage you to invite your administrators to the session. Their input into both this survey and future surveys is important in reaching our project goals.

What about the results?

The final piece for this first Benchmarking Survey will be the analysis of your responses by the academic team. The academic team will study the responses and present their final report, including the Peer Group results, to NACCU this fall. The individual results and analysis of this study will be available to all members of NACCU. Remember, the team does not have the data to place an institution in a Peer Group if the survey is not completed.

The goal is to aid NACCU members in evaluating their operations and identifying the needs, requirements and contributions of the Campus Card Industry. With your participation, we can successfully achieve the first steps toward this goal.

What’s next?

The next phases of the Benchmarking Project will be developed based upon our experiences with Phases I and II. Key questions include: (a) Did the results have an impact upon your program? (b) Was it beneficial to the members? (c) What lessons were learned? (d) Was there a part of the survey that didn’t garner enough information?

What additional benchmarks could add value? The data we collect in this Benchmarking Survey builds the foundation for further steps. This initial research will allow us to develop a blueprint for collecting additional information so that we will eventually have the most comprehensive set of data ever collected for our industry. From that data NACCU can achieve our broader goals.

Conclusion

It’s quite simple. The more useful data we can amass, the more beneficial it will be to the membership. The Benchmarking Project has the potential to become one of the most useful tools you can use to validate your card program, elevate your campus standing and position yourself for greater resources. Participating in this initial research study is a good investment of your time.

Call to Action

Your participation in this first Benchmarking Survey is the next vital effort for the Benchmarking Project. The results will be only as good as the actual data collected from our membership. We understand we are asking for your valuable and limited time to gather the data requested and NACCU thanks you for taking the time to do so. Your institution can be included in a Peer Group and other analyses only if you participate. Please set aside some time to complete the Benchmarking Survey. Thank you.

Jeanine Brooks is the Action Card Director at The University of Alabama and Chairs the NACCU Benchmarking Project. Dr. Kristy Vienne serves as AVP for Student Services at Sam Houston State University and chairs the NACCU Education Committee. NACCU Staff Writers include Lowell Adkins, Executive Director and Jörrun Liston, Education Manager.

Update January 2010:

Member Profile Results Posted

The Member Profile survey results are now posted in the Member Resources area at www.naccu.org.

These results can serve as a reference to identify institutions of similar size, geographical area, system features, vendors, and applications to allow for more effective networking and collaboration with other members. The reported information has been compiled in a searchable format, giving you the ability to sort and select the information in a variety of ways.

This instrument was developed by analyzing frequently asked questions on the Listserv along with input from the Education Committee. This base institutional card system profile information was collected in preparation for a more comprehensive benchmarking project to be released in 2010.

If your institution would like to participate, please use this link: NACCU Member Profile Survey. Results will be updated monthly. A special thank you to the institutions who participated in this initial survey. Your active involvement is greatly appreciated.

Jörrun Liston
Education Manager
National Association of Campus Card Users (NACCU)

Update: June 2009

Phase I Information Verification

Selected Campuses

The National Association of Campus Card Users (NACCU) has developed a benchmarking project for the campus card profession. Phase I of this project, an environmental scan of the industry, is nearly complete, and we would appreciate your assistance in confirming some information regarding your school and campus card program.

During the month of June, project team members will be calling several campuses directly to verify information specific to their program such as the services provided to the campus, the department or division the card office reports to and the name of the card program. These calls will be brief. Calls will originate from a 205 Area Code and the callers will identify themselves as NACCU Benchmarking Project team members.

Phase I project data focused on the environment an institution’s card program serves. The verified results will be used by the project team to determine data clustering for the actual benchmarking survey that will be released to all NACCU members.

The majority of the data included in Phase I is publicly available information from an institution’s website and that information has been verified. This included information such as the number of enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, number of faculty/staff, public/private, annual tuition, city/state and local community size. Calls will simply need to verify the data focused on the card program.

If your campus has been selected to participate, we thank you in advance for your contribution to the campus card industry. Your assistance in verifying the data collected is critical to the success of the benchmarking project and we appreciate your time and efforts.

NACCU Education Committee: Benchmarking Project

ListServe Notice

January 28, 2009

The Education Committee is excited to begin the New Year with our 2009 initiative to establish Campus Card Industry benchmarks. As we begin this project, our members’ willingness to participate is vital in making the project a success. Accurate benchmarking can only be achieved with a strong volume of responses from across the spectrum.

Knowing the depth of the initiative, we looked to the academic community to support the project and have created the following plan and timeline utilizing faculty and graduate students from the University of Alabama’s Manderson Graduate School of Business.

Starting January 2009, the initial project is designed to research and define the Campus Card Industry. That information will identify prominent features of the industry and common denominators within our membership. Using those datasets, a determination can then be made on how to best cluster the data for benchmarking analysis.

Phase 2 of the project begins Fall 2009, as information from Phase I is utilized to establish the actual benchmarks regarding institutional profile, card office profile and financial information. From that information they will develop and release the membership survey. The results of the survey will be analyzed and presented to the membership in a formal report.

The project goals include establishing a standard of excellence we can measure our unique programs against to create goals and service offerings for our institutions. We also look to promote the awareness of the benefits a Campus Card program offers an academic institution, as well as, elevate the Campus Card Professional within the institution.

Benchmarking has been a top priority item for the Education Committee. We have spent the past year on a learning curve where we researched benchmarking and standards and initiated surveys. That research led us to seek experts in the field to ensure quality results for an industry level initiative.

The Education Committee will work directly with the faculty and graduate students and will present quarterly updates to the NACCU membership on the project’s progress. We encourage your comments at any point in the project via the NACCU listserv or directly to an Education Committee member and we have listed our contact information below.

Thank you,

NACCU Education Committee

Jeanine Brooks, Chair

The University of Alabama

jbrooks@bama.ua.edu

(205) 348-8690

Matt Drummond

Duke University

Matthew.drummond@duke.edu

(919) 684-5800

Carolyn Hartley

University of New Mexico