Enquirer Consulting Group

SmartEvals Buyer Map

Ronald | SmartEvals | October 2026

As of 15 Oct 2026

SmartEvals sells course evaluation software, an early warning and attendance system for student retention, instructor coaching tools and emergency alerts to colleges, universities and companies.

This page maps the organizations those products sell into, roughly how many there are, and who usually signs off at each, so the next semester's outreach can reach the offices that hold the budget.

Where your buyers sit

Counts cover privately run organizations only. Public universities and most public community colleges sit outside the business count, so the real market in each group is larger than the band shown.

Group	Organizations in the US	Under 20 staff	20 to 99	100 to 499	500 or more
Four-year colleges, universities and professional schools	about 2,500	about 890	about 380	about 480	about 740
Community and junior colleges	about 410	about 190	about 95	about 93	about 37
Technical and trade schools that run graded courses	about 4,000	about 3,400	about 380	about 94	about 79
Companies that run their own instructor-led training programs	no clean public count

US firm counts by industry code, banded deliberately.

Who signs off on course evaluations

Course evaluations sit with the offices that report on teaching quality and accreditation.

At most colleges the evaluation system is owned by institutional research or institutional effectiveness, with the provost's office approving the spend. Faculty buy-in decides whether a renewal goes through, so a dean or faculty senate lead often weighs in on the shortlist.

Group	Usually signs off	Also in the room
Four-year colleges and universities	Provost or Vice President for Academic Affairs	Director of Institutional Research, Director of Assessment
Community and junior colleges	Vice President of Instruction	Director of Institutional Effectiveness, deans
Technical and trade schools	Chief Academic Officer or Director of Education	Program directors, compliance lead

Who signs off on retention and early warning

Retention spend sits with student success and enrollment leaders, who answer for graduation and persistence rates.

A retention system is usually bought by the student affairs or enrollment management side rather than academic affairs. Advising, tutoring and attendance staff use it daily, and their leads shape the decision. A refund promise tied to the retention rate speaks directly to the person who reports that rate to the board.

Group	Usually signs off	Also in the room
Four-year colleges and universities	Vice President of Student Affairs or Enrollment Management	Director of Student Success, Director of Advising
Community and junior colleges	Vice President of Student Services	Director of Retention, tutoring center lead
Technical and trade schools	Director of Student Services	Admissions and career services leads

Who signs off on integration, alerts and security

Anything that connects to the learning management system or holds student data passes through IT. The chief information officer or director of academic technology rarely starts the purchase but can stop it, so a short security and integration brief early in the cycle saves time later. Emergency alerts also involve campus safety or emergency management.

Role	What they check
Chief Information Officer	Data security, hosting and contract terms
Director of Academic Technology	Fit with the learning management system and single sign-on
Director of Campus Safety or Emergency Management	Alert reach and speed for emergency messages

Who signs off at companies

Companies that run instructor-led training buy evaluation and feedback tools through learning and development. The head of learning or talent development usually signs, with HR and IT reviewing data handling. There is no clean public count for this group, since training programs sit inside companies of every kind.

Role	Why they care
Chief Learning Officer or Head of Learning and Development	Proving training quality and instructor results
Director of Talent Development	Feedback on trainers and course outcomes
HR Director	Data handling and employee survey policy

Ten people to start with

The people who usually sign at the groups above, one a company. Work emails and phone numbers checked on Oct 15, 2026.

Name	Role	Company	Where	Email	Phone
Jody Call	Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning	Wilkes Community College	Wilkesboro, NC	jrcall337@wilkescc.edu	+1 336 838 6233
Steven Wettergren	Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Career Outcomes	University of St. Francis	Joliet, IL	swettergren@stfrancis.edu	+1 815 740 2272
Frances Frey	Executive Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness	Trinity University	San Antonio, TX	ffrey@trinity.edu	+1 210 999 7479
Lisa Krissoff Boehm	Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs	Saginaw Valley State University	University Center, MI	lkboehm@svsu.edu	+1 989 964 4296
Michael A. Palladino	Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs	Stockton University	Galloway, NJ	michael.palladino@stockton.edu	+1 609 652 4514
Jon C. Neidy	Vice President of Student Success	Illinois Central College	East Peoria, IL	jon.neidy@icc.edu	+1 309 694 8970
Laura Emerick	Associate Vice President of Student Success and Engagement	Marion Technical College	Marion, OH	emerickl@mtc.edu	+1 740 725 4013
Matthew Hoffman	Chief Information Officer	Pennsylvania Highlands Community College	Johnstown, PA	mhoffman@pennhighlands.edu	+1 814 262 3826
Janet Wincko	Chief Learning Officer	Memorial Healthcare System	Hollywood, FL	jwincko@mhs.net	+1 954 987 2000
Anthony (Tony) Pellegrino	Director of Training and Development	Ring Power Corporation	St. Augustine, FL	anthony.pellegrino@ringpower.com	+1 904 377 3428

Where to start

Lead with the demo, aimed at the provost's office

Your site asks every visitor to schedule a demo and promises it will be fun. Outreach to provosts and institutional research directors ahead of each evaluation season, offering that short demo against their current process, fits how you already sell.

Put the retention refund in front of student success leaders

Your site guarantees a refund if a school's retention rate does not rise in the first year, and points to a community college case study. That promise is a direct opener for vice presidents of student affairs and retention directors, who carry that number.

Answer IT before IT asks

Your site stresses plug-and-play integration with the learning management system, data security and free faculty training. A one-page brief for the chief information officer and academic technology director removes the usual late-stage stall.

Built from public federal registries and the company's own website, counts banded deliberately.

If a walk-through is useful, pick a time at cal.com/ecg.

Prepared by Paul Smaldone, paul@enquirerconsulting.com.