CLEARER EVIDENCE FOR SCHOOL DECISIONSABOUT ATHENS ANALYTICS
Athens Analytics brings statistical consulting, careful data analysis and practical reporting to the decisions school leaders face every day.
Schools have information in many places: student systems, admissions reports, spreadsheets and the experience of their staff. Our work starts by connecting that information to a decision, establishing what it can tell you and making the answer useful.
We work alongside heads of school, finance teams and admissions leaders. Whether the question concerns enrollment, retention or reports that disagree, the goal is a clear explanation and a process your school can continue to use.
EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE WORK
Statistical consulting
Enrollment analytics
Data and model validation
Sam’s career brings together senior consulting at SAS Institute, quantitative leadership in banking, and analytical work in education, healthcare, utilities and other industries. Across those settings, his work has included building analytical databases, developing and testing models, interpreting complex records and helping people use the results.
That experience informs Athens Analytics’ approach: define the question, examine the evidence, test the reasoning and explain the implications in language leaders can use.
PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO SCHOOLS
At SAS, Sam developed an enrollment-management approach for new and continuing students. His work included identifying students at risk, examining gateway courses and transfer patterns, estimating course-seat needs, and developing decision metrics from application data.
At Bank of America, he designed, developed and validated predictive risk models, designed a consumer-risk database, managed quantitative analysts and developed a system for validating commercial-risk models.
His TSYS work examined acquisition, attrition and changes in customer behavior. At SAS, he developed a course called “The SAS Model Factory.” His work at Premier also included teaching staff to access complex data efficiently.
These experiences provide methods and perspective. School-specific conclusions still require sound definitions, appropriate records and validation in the school’s own context.
BREADTH OF EXPERIENCE
These roles describe Sam’s individual background. The organizations below are not presented as Athens Analytics clients or endorsements.
Senior Consultant
Consulting across education, healthcare, manufacturing, sports, utilities, finance and retail. Projects included enrollment management, real-time process analysis, customer-response models, market-basket analysis and analytical training.
VP, Quantitative Finance · Senior Analyst
Predictive risk modeling, consumer-risk database design, commercial-model validation and management of quantitative analysts. An earlier role focused on consumer marketing analysis for card customers.
Vice President, Credit Risk Management
Risk models for home-equity, automotive, marine and unsecured lending, together with development of a “Know Your Customer” business-intelligence database.
Statistical Consultant
Acquisition and attrition models using transaction data, customer-value segmentation, a consumer purchase index and methods for flagging changes in customer activity.
Statistical Consultant
Acquisition modeling, customer satisfaction and loyalty initiatives, vendor coordination, and analysis combining multiple data sources with survey findings.
Statistical Consultant
Response modeling, business-customer segmentation and a First Call Resolution initiative to identify opportunities for call-center improvement.
AVP, Consumer Risk
Automobile loan and lease risk models, consumer-risk database design and strategic planning.
Statistical Consultant
Clinical-data analysis and models used to evaluate drug effectiveness, alongside staff instruction in efficient data access.
Statistical Consultant
Research and analysis of clinical data, with web-based presentation of findings using SAS software.
Analyst and Project Manager
Earlier work included management of Department of Defense and Department of Energy projects and environmental-impact studies.
EDUCATION & CONTINUED LEARNING
Sam’s education includes study in mathematics, mathematical statistics and probability at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
His professional training includes Johns Hopkins University coursework in R programming, data preparation, exploratory analysis, reproducible research, statistical inference, regression, machine learning and developing data products.
Additional training spans Big Data and Social Physics at MIT, Design Thinking for Innovation at the University of Virginia, Sports Marketing through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and Sabermetrics at Boston University.
Useful analysis depends on both analytical discipline and the knowledge already held by your staff. We begin with the decision, agree on definitions and review existing systems before recommending new reporting or development.
Each engagement should leave your school with understandable findings, documented limitations and a practical next step. School leaders retain responsibility for decisions about students, families and programs.
Start with the decision your school needs to make. We can help identify what the evidence supports and where to begin.
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