How CASE Peer Advancement Review Works

The CASE Peer Advancement Review brings a team of educational advancement experts to your campus for a confidential, objective review process designed to help your college, university or independent school understand how its advancement operations compare to best practices in the field.

CASE offers two types of Peer Advancement Reviews:

• The Comprehensive Peer Advancement Review focuses on evaluating your institution's complete advancement operations: systems, programs and resources. Three reviewers will spend two days on your campus reviewing your fundraising, alumni relations and communications and marketing operations.
• The Discipline-Specific Peer Advancement Review focuses solely on one particular discipline within advancement. Two reviewers will spend one day on campus reviewing one of the advancement disciplines: fundraising, alumni relations or communications and marketing operations.

Why Conduct a Peer Review?

• Identify key/critical issues prior to major fundraising campaigns, or at the start or conclusion of an institutional strategic planning process.
• Gain new perspectives on challenges facing the advancement division/department.
• Begin the process of an advancement planning process.
• Receive a checkup prior to an institutional accreditation process.

---

How do I begin the Peer Review process?

To initiate a CASE Peer Advancement Review, CASE will conduct an initial intake discussion with your institution to explain the peer advancement review process in detail. Contact Bob Sullivan at  +1 202-478-5560 or rusullivan@case.org.

A Peer Advancement Review takes place in three phases:

1. In the first phase, CASE will ask your institution to submit qualitative data to prior to having the Peer Advancement Review team visit your campus.
2. The second phase consists of having the Peer Advancement Review team visit your campus to conduct the one- or two-day review of your advancement operations. 
3. In the third and final phase, the Peer Advancement Review team will create and deliver a report and recommendations to your team.

1. You must provide information and qualitative data for the Peer Review team to begin their work.
2. You must identify a campus contact to manage the interaction between your institution and the review team leader to field questions, facilitate the campus visit, etc.

It is recommended that your institution set up a peer review committee to further facilitate data requests and plan and assist the campus visit from the Peer Advancement Review team. The campus visit by the Peer Advancement Review team will require time from your chief advancement officer and other relevant staff.

---

How long does it take (beginning to end and onsite)?

The entire Peer Review process, for initial call to CASE to final report delivery, is likely to occur over a four- to six-month period.

The various costs associated with the different levels of service will be reviewed during the intake process. For more information, contact Bob Sullivan at +1 202-478-5560 or rusullivan@case.org.

Each review is conducted by a team of advancement professionals composed of a Review Team Leader and 1-2 educational advancement experts who are either current or recently retired practitioners in the field and have significant experience (10 years or more) in the profession. CASE will identify and recruit the Peer Reviewers from among the pool of Peer Reviewers maintained by CASE. CASE will attempt to recruit team members from institutions that, as closely as possible, are similar in type to your institution.

• The CASE Peer Advancement Review will not involve an evaluation of professional staff or their performance, which CASE views as an institutional responsibility and obligation.
• This is not consulting. CASE will not engage in implementation or trying to up-sell services following the Peer Review process.