Clemson University Hires Yardley Research Group To Conduct Assessment of Doctoral Programs in Preparation for National Research Council Study

October 13, 2004 (Yardley, Pennsylvania) - Clemson University, one of the nation's leading public research universities, has hired the Yardley Research Group to conduct an assessment of its doctoral programs. The University has been steadily rising in national polls and has established a goal to be one of the top 20 public research universities in the nation.

Clemson University is enjoying an extraordinary period of growth and development, featuring sustained improvements in student performance, campus life, research support, and educational resources. "Hiring the Yardley Group," says J. Bruce Rafert, newly appointed Dean of the Graduate School, "represents a systematic attempt to sustain those same improvements in our doctoral programs."

Yardley Research Group will assess Clemson's doctoral programs in the context of the nation's public research universities. They will examine various indicators of student quality and performance, faculty and research prowess, physical infrastructure, student services, and competitive elements, such as stipend, time-to-degree, and degree completion. The result of the assessment will be a roadmap that proposes specific actions to raise Clemson's doctoral programs to the level of the top 20. "The timing of the Yardley assessment project is perfect," says Rafert. "It will help our doctoral programs begin to think about how they will be positioned in the NRC's upcoming study." The National Research Council conducts a periodic assessment of the nation's doctoral programs. The results of the last study were published in 1995. The next study is currently scheduled to begin in July 2005.

For Rafert, the choice of Yardley Research Group was important. "I've worked with the Yardley Group both here at Clemson and at my previous university. In both cases, we have a large number of graduate programs, a strong desire to compete with top universities, and a significant commitment to state-of-the-art interdisciplinary programming and research. I can hardly think of another firm that I would trust to understand and deal with this level of complexity. I trust the Yardley Group completely. Their facility with information, their interpretive skills, their understanding of the way institutions operate, their grasp of the direction of academic disciplines, their sensitivity in working with faculty-all this combines to bring to bear a powerful intelligence on the challenges I've brought to them. I'm confident that their work will help us move toward where we want to be."

"We're delighted to have this opportunity," says Michael Ditchkofsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Yardley Research Group. "As is the case with many of our clients, Clemson's development over the last several years has been formidable in many areas. Helping them define their next steps will be very interesting and rewarding work and will help us expand the capacity of our own practice."

About Clemson University

Clemson University is South Carolina's leading land-grant university, with approximately 14,000 undergraduate and 3,400 graduate and professional students. The university, pursuing a goal of becoming one of the nation's top 20 public universities, offers students invaluable learning resources through research institutes, technological facilities and outstanding faculty. Clemson offers programs in engineering and science; agriculture, forestry and life sciences; architecture, arts and humanities; health, education and human development and business and behavioral sciences. More information about the University is available at its web site, www.clemson.edu.

Editorial Contact:
J. Bruce Rafert (864) 656-4423
Dean of the Graduate School
Clemson University
E-105 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

About the Yardley Research Group

The Yardley Research Group, headquartered in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a consulting practice focused on increasing the competitiveness of its client institutions. Among its principals and staff, it has collectively more than 150 years of experience working in and around higher education. The Yardley Group has done work related to research competitiveness, the creation and structuring of interdisciplinary graduate programs, the measurement of faculty instructional productivity, infrastructure planning, feasibility analysis, and institutional change. The Yardley Research Group has developed a capacity to solve strategic problems related to research universities in particular and to institutions seeking improvement or change in stature in general. More information about the company is available at its web site, www.yardleygroup.com.

Editorial Contact:
Louise Williamson 
Vice President and Managing Principal
Yardley Research Group