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Oakland University Collaborates on K–12 Student Migration Tools

In an effort to increase enrollment and track migration trends in K–12 schools, the Public Affairs Research Laboratory (PARL) at Oakland University (MI) developed two new survey tools that map the flow of students in challenging enrollment environments.

The survey tools were created in collaboration with Munetrix, a national data aggregator and solutions provider for schools and municipalities. Using Munetrix-provided data, PARL created the Relocated Student Family Survey and the Enrolled Student Family Survey. These “citizen survey tools,” as the company describes, help map the inflows and outflows of students in school districts facing “significant student departures due to school of choice options and other educational opportunities pulling students out of their home district,” according to a prepared statement. Both of the survey tools are free and available for district officials, community volunteers and others to use.

“Our goal was to create two simple tools which will allow districts some granular insight on why families choose to leave or, in the spirit of customer satisfaction, to stay,” said Pat Piskulich, associate professor of political science at OU and director of PARL, in a statement.

“Munetrix makes the issues and trouble spots clear, so we are often asked by subscribers, ‘What do we do now?’” said Munetrix President Bob Kittle, in a statement. “This PARL project represents one way we answer the ‘Now what’ question, providing districts with free or low-cost tools that go beyond data to help them develop academic, arts and athletic programming and planning strategies to strengthen their districts and market them to students and parents as an attractive education option.”

Munetrix previously partnered with OU’s Incubator and the Masters of Public Administration program. The company co-taught a public budgeting and finance course in which students used Munetrix software and data to “make budgeting assumptions, projections and model forecasts in a ‘SimCity’ type environment.”

To learn more about the survey tools, visit the Munetrix site.

About the Author

Sri Ravipati is Web producer for THE Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at [email protected].

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