I may be TOO attracted to knowing stats-and I think that sometimes, using stats makes one appear cold-so be sure to at least complement stats with personal stories-anecdotes about students, faculty, alumni, community members that also illustrate the point. Nevertheless, I think that there are stats you should know-about your university, about your community (region or state), and about higher education. The list below is probably most relevant to public universities-please ignore those irrelevant to your mission.
Some university stats will depend on the mission and nature, but for almost all universities, I think you should have at your fingertips:
*Your retention and graduation rates (4 year, 6 year)
*Cost of attendance, in-state and out-of-state
*Enrollment (undergraduate and graduate), in-state and out of state
*Ethnic diversity of your students
*Research expenditures (if relevant)
*US News & World Reports or other relevant ranking
*Approximate revenue and expenses (tuition, state appropriation, research grants…personnel (typically 80% and all other)
*Endowment (if relevant)
Sure, it is great to know other items, like percentage Pell grants, change (improvement) in some stat over time, postgraduation employment data, ratings relative to peers. And there are likely to be some items specific to your institution (law school, med school…etc) as well as stats you need in a particular context, like salary benchmarks when talking to faculty and staff-but I think this list can get you started…whether you are a sitting president or an aspirant.
I think it is worth knowing some items about your state, as well.
*Per capita income of residents/primary industries in state
*Educational attainment and attainment goal
*Rate of college progression
*State population and ethnic diversity
With respect to higher education, you should know the general rates for the US of:
*4, 6-year graduations (35% and 58%, which includes people who transfer, not just one institutional rate)
*Educational attainment (~35% have bachelor’s or higher)
*Lifetime wage differential, high-school vs college (~$1M)