Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about Gray DI and get answers to frequently asked questions about our PES software, AI applications and services for higher education.

General Overview

The Gray Decision Intelligence (Gray DI) Program Evaluation System (PES) is the only complete academic program evaluation system for higher education institutions.  For over 1,000 programs, PES has robust, accurate data on markets, including four sources of data on student demand, two on employment, and two on competition.  PES Economics calculates revenue, cost, and margin by department, program, course, and section.  Economics also includes critical academic metrics, such as DFW rates and credit hours earned.  Finally, PES includes a proven workshop process in which faculty and administrators reach consensus on programs to start, stop, or grow.

Gray DI is the only vendor offering a complete Program Evaluation System that integrates student demand, employment, competition, program economics, and decision-making workshops.  Key proprietary features include the use of National Student Clearinghouse enrollment data updated three times annually, crosswalks between academic programs and occupations that correct 100:1 errors in traditional labor databases, correction of the locations for over 530,000 online students, and a machine-learning model (PES Predict) that forecasts program size with over 90% accuracy.

Gray DI is the only data and software vendor that offers Program Evaluation Workshops in which faculty and administrators use Gray DI’s PES to inform program decisions.  Gray DI also offers a Curricular Efficiency Workshop, in which faculty leaders learn to use PES Economics to reduce curricular costs. 

Importantly, Gray DI’s economic analysis typically reveals that cutting programs, even small programs, is more likely to hurt financial performance than help it; most of these programs have positive margins; when contribution-positive programs are cut, revenue often falls faster than costs. The cost of teach-outs further undermines the economics of cutting programs. Instead, Gray DI focuses on rationalizing underenrolled courses and sections and reducing faculty release time and unassigned time.  These changes substantially reduce cost, without affecting revenue.

Student Demand & Data Accuracy

Gray DI is the only firm providing four distinct sources of student demand data:
  1. National Student Clearinghouse (NSC):  Current local and national enrollment data updated 3x per year.
  2. Google Search Volume: Monthly updates on what prospective students are searching for (the only forward-looking indicator).
  3. International Page Views: Data on program interest by country of origin.
IPEDS Completions:  Standard historical data, which Gray DI supplements with more current sources to overcome the 3–5 year lag inherent in IPEDS.

Most vendors rely on IPEDS, which incorrectly attributes all online students to an institution’s headquarters, which substantially skews estimates of local labor market supply and demand. Gray DI uses NC SARA data and proprietary algorithms to relocate over 530,000 online students into the markets where they actually live and study. This prevents the overstatement of competition and labor market supply in cities like Phoenix that have large online institutions, and understatement of competition and labor market supply in many other markets.

Employment & Labor Market Insights

Unlike traditional suppliers that use the NCES crosswalk (which maps programs to only 5–15 occupations), Gray DI uses empirical data from a database of over 30,000,000 graduates. This reveals that graduates enter hundreds of different occupations, ensuring that institutions do not overlook the primary career paths for their students.

Yes. The PES Predict module uses a back-tested machine-learning model to estimate the potential size of current and new programs. The model distinguishes between large and small programs with over 90% accuracy, significantly reducing the financial risk of launching new offerings.

Software Features & AI Capabilities

Yes. Gray DI uses AI to generate instant text reports for over 1,500 programs. These on-demand reports summarize complex data on student demand, employment, and competition in easy-to-read narratives for academic leaders and stakeholders.

Program Scorecards are color-coded dashboards that evaluate the attractiveness of a program’s market across 50+ variables. By using percentiles to compare a program against 1,500 others, the scorecards allow users to instantly see if a metric (like 1,300 Google searches) represents high or low demand relative to the rest of the market.

Thought Leadership & Support

Gray DI’s founder, Robert G Atkins, published the leading industry text: “Start, Stop, or Grow: A Data-Informed Approach to Academic Program Evaluation.” With over 3,000 copies sold, it serves as the conceptual framework for program management at dozens of colleges and universities.

No. Gray DI’s market data show that most liberal arts programs have above-average market scores and reasonable economics. Their graduates go directly into hundreds of occupations, and many go on to graduate school. The lifetime ROI on a liberal arts education is typically over $900,000.

Gray DI offers a hybrid support model, including:

  • Human Support: Dedicated expert client teams and one-on-one meetings during office hours.
  • AI Support: 24/7 access to AI-enabled support for immediate answers outside of business hours.
  • No Usage Caps: Gray DI does not charge “per seat,” encouraging broad institutional adoption without incremental costs.

Yes. Gray DI teaches program evaluation and management through a paid certification course at Bay Path University, a free online Masterclass, and monthly webinars that track emerging program trends and industry shifts.