In an effort to inform evidence-based decision making and provide transparency to stakeholders, higher education institutions capture more data than ever before. Data such as learning outcomes, course evaluations, faculty qualifications, and more is collected in purpose-built systems used to report on a specific area of activity.
Critical campus data is no longer lost in file cabinets or thumb drives, but, all too often, it isn’t organized in ways that support easy interpretation and analysis across the institution. Given the need for a more holistic view, what barriers exist, and how can institutions respond?
In 2019, Watermark surveyed the Education Dive audience. Stakeholders at higher education institutions revealed what they think are the greatest challenges to effectively using data to improve student and institutional outcomes. The findings suggest that more must be done to create robust connections across data sources and stronger collaboration across the institution in order to surface the insights that will fully inform decision-making, spur innovation, and drive meaningful improvement.
Respondents indicated that administrators have a critical role to play in providing additional support, resources, and leadership to champion more strategic analysis of data. Additionally, respondents overwhelmingly agreed that educational intelligence, or capturing multiple data points across the student lifecycle. could significantly benefit their work.
More than 230 institutional leaders, faculty, directors and staff of offices supporting strategic initiatives from a wide range of campuses and fields participated in the survey.
“More must be done to create robust connections across data sources and stronger collaboration across the institution in order to surface the insights that will fully inform decision-making, spur innovation, and drive meaningful improvement.”
Higher education institutions that have not yet realized data analytics’ importance and adjusted their operations accordingly are increasingly in the minority. In June 2018, EdTech reported that 61 percent of institutions had “some form of analytics-driven initiative in place.” Additionally, most institutions without such an initiative in place had plans to implement one. Only one percent of responding institutions reported that they were not considering any kind of data analytics program.
Survey respondents expressed confidence that their institution’s administration was setting the right tone about using data to make evidence-based improvements.
When asked, “How proactive is your administration in promoting a culture of using data to drive continuous improvement on campus?”:
Nearly 68% of respondents said that their administration was either very or somewhat proactive in promoting a culture of using data.
However, respondents indicated that administrators could do even more to support campus stakeholders with training, resources, and strategic leadership to more effectively use data. More than 40 percent of respondents reported that increased professional development on using software and analyzing data to improve teaching and learning, more powerful analytics to identify key trends and generate insights from data, and stronger leadership from administrators championing innovative ways to use data to answer strategic questions would improve data usage and effectiveness at their institutions.
Higher education institutional leadership, faculty, and directors and staff of offices supporting strategic initiatives were among the 230 survey respondents.
Most of these roles regularly require data analysis and interpretation, as well as the implementation of institutional improvement efforts.
Asked to describe the degree to which they’re involved in certain institutional processes, high numbers of respondents said they were “regularly” or “very involved’ in:
With so much available data, interconnectivity between systems is essential if institutions are to effectively use their data to gain insight and drive meaningful improvement. Last year, Inside Higher Ed referred to the danger of a “Data Babel,” which was defined as “critical operational challenges that involve application, platforms and databases (often six to eight or more on some campuses) that do not ‘talk’ with one another and that are difficult to aggregate, integrate, analyze and exploit.”
These challenges have been repeated among technology leaders and higher education administrators. Matt Lisle, director of digital learning technologies at the Center for 21st Century Universities, and Yakut Gazi, associate dean of learning systems in professional education at Georgia Institute of Technology, recently wrote in The EvoLLLution:
“As professionals in the broader academic technology space, we feel platform fatigue due to the many technology players and their offerings. Secretly (or openly), we wish for a day of platform convergence.” They issued a call to action for data solutions providers serving higher ed: “We reiterate and remind the importance of interoperability to our technology providers and ask them to prioritize this over adding features and functionalities to their platforms.”
Survey shared the concern that large volumes of data coming from disparate systems must be properly managed and shared. When asked how they would describe the number of “software systems used at your campus to collect and manage data for improvement:”
But these reservations do not mean that respondents want to reduce the amount or diversity of available data. Like Lisle and Gazi, survey participants indicated that connectivity among systems is critical. However, in addition to technology solutions, they emphasized the role of individuals, suggesting that better collaboration among stakeholders was vital to improve the use of data at their institutions
When asked what would enable their institutions to more effectively use data to drive meaningful improvement:
In addition to technology solutions, they emphasized the role of individuals, suggesting that better collaboration among stakeholders was vital to improve the use of data at their institutions.
In order to use data to improve student outcomes, institutions must think holistically. In 2015, Eduventures defined ‘educational intelligence’ as “leveraging data at points across the student lifecycle to make intelligent decisions to positively impact student outcomes.” Overwhelmingly, survey recognized the value of educational intelligence: 90 percent said it could benefit their work.
Large majorities of respondents affirmed the value of being able to assess students’ standing at multiple points throughout their time at the institution; in particular, some noted that educational intelligence could help identify at-risk students and aid administrators or faculty in determining whether and when an intervention is appropriate. Many also said educational intelligence could help raise student retention rates. Some of the additional benefits cited by respondents included:
90% of survey respondents said that educational intelligence could benefit their work.
While there’s clear agreement among higher education leaders that it’s more important than ever to use data to improve student and institutional outcomes, significant barriers exist to utilizing data effectively. The Education Dive survey revealed that these barriers do not stem from a lack of available data, technology systems, or even advocacy among administrators. Rather, the challenges result from disconnected data, technology systems, and processes on campus. That disconnect can prevent stakeholders from collaborating effectively and analyzing information holistically to generate the right insights to drive meaningful change.
Educational intelligence offers a potential solution. By leveraging data at multiple points across the student lifecycle, institutions can identify more powerful insights to inform decision making that positively impacts student outcomes. In order to get this more holistic view of student data from enrollment to graduation, institutions require innovative solutions that facilitate greater connections across data points and between systems. Additionally, campus leaders must work to actively foster a culture of collaboration, breaking down silos that exist across departments and disparate processes.
Forward-thinking institutions can achieve remarkable results when they leverage data across solutions and facilitate better collaboration among stakeholders. For example, after forming a “student success task force” in the hopes of unearthing new insights from previously unconnected data, Southern Connecticut State University initiated several successful new initiatives. These included changes to the institution’s advisement center, a new academic success center that replaced the original tutoring structure, and a new financial literacy coordinator position, according to Campus Technology.
Institutions that take this kind of intentional approach are well-positioned to identify innovative solutions to complex challenges and ensure alignment around key priorities to accelerate growth in strategic areas. As one respondent stated “l think access to common data for different departments/programs/offices, etc. would allow for more concentrated growth – everyone working together and on the same page, rather than multiple people trying to help in different ways and at different times.”
In an era when higher ed institutions must navigate an ever-growing volume of competing priorities, ensuring that stakeholders can leverage connected data systems and collaborative processes to continually improve student outcomes. advance institutional effectiveness, and identity key opportunities for growth will be strong drivers of success.
Watermark’s mission is to put better data into the hands of administrators, educators, and learners everywhere in order to empower them to connect information and gain insights into learning that will drive meaningful improvements. We support more than 1.700+ institutions in the U.S. and beyond in developing an intentional approach to learning and development based on data they can trust. For more information on our purpose-built educational intelligence solutions, including assessment and accreditation management, eportfolios, faculty activity reporting, course evaluations, institutional surveys, and curriculum and catalog management, visit www.watermarkinsights.com