Alumni donations are an important source of revenue for colleges and universities. if administration could determine the factors that could lead to increases in the percentage of alumni who make a donation, they might be able to implement policies that could lead to increased revenues. Research shows that students who are more satisfied with their contact with teachers are more likely to graduate. As a result, one might suspect that smaller class sizes and lower student-faculty ratios might lead to a higher percentage of satisfied graduates, which in turn might lead to increases in the percentage of alumni who make a donation. Table 15.13 shows data for 48 national universities (America's Best Colleges, Year 2000 edition). The column labeled Graduation rate is the percentage of students who initially enrolled at the university and graduates. The column labeled % of class Under 20 shows the percentage of classes offered with fewer than 20 students. The column labeled Student - Faculty ratio is the number of students enrolled divvied by the total number of faculty. Finally, the column labeled Alumni Giving Rate is the percentage of alumni who made a donation to the university.
Managerial Report
1. Use methods of descriptive statistics to summarize the data.
2. Develop an estimated regression equation that can be used to predict the alumni giving rate given the number of students who graduate. Discuss your findings.
3. Develop an estimated regression equation that could be used to predict the alumni giving rate using the data provided.
4. What conclusion and recommendations can you derive from your analysis?