ERIC Number: ED588396
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 36
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Institutions' Use of Data and Analytics for Student Success: Results from a National Landscape Analysis
Parnell, Amelia; Jones, Darlena; Wesaw, Alexis; Brooks, D. Christopher
EDUCAUSE
As higher education institutions in the United States strive to maximize their use of resources to better support students, it is critical for professionals to make data-informed decisions. Most institutions are currently gathering an abundance of data from multiple sources, which provides a good opportunity for functional units, divisions, and departments to share timely and relevant data and collaboratively deliver programs and services. Three of many integral units that are involved in data-informed strategies are: (1) institutional research (IR); (2) student affairs; and (3) information technology (IT). A survey was conducted to examine the current landscape of institutions' use of data and analytics for student success. This report describes a variety of challenges and opportunities regarding institutions' readiness to expand data use across functions. The results include distinctions by size and sector of institution as well as by professional role. Among the many findings that highlight how IT, IR, and student affairs divisions are engaged in collaborative data-oriented work, three are especially relevant to this discussion: (1) Although primary data-oriented roles and responsibilities for IR, IT, and student affairs are somewhat siloed, these units are contributing to institution-wide goals of improving student success; (2) Most institutions are investing in data and analytics projects, but few are measuring the resulting costs; and (3) For most institutions, first-year students are the main focus of multiple student success studies.
Descriptors: College Students, Colleges, Data Analysis, Data Collection, Success, Student Personnel Workers, Researchers, Information Technology, Professional Personnel, Institutional Research, Institutional Characteristics, Student Characteristics, Responsibility, Program Effectiveness, Progress Monitoring
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Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Lumina Foundation
Authoring Institution: NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education; Association for Institutional Research (AIR); EDUCAUSE
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A