This week, presidents and key executives from NAICU member colleges gathered in Washington, DC, to tackle the tough challenges facing university leadership in tumultuous times. The agenda covered legislative issues impacting higher education, how to succeed in today’s evolving higher education environment and more.
The rise of data analytics. Government efforts to introduce accountability stats for colleges and universities. Students’ increased voice in institutions of higher education. These are a few of the forces revolutionizing the field of institutional research. This shift is already underway, but what is leading it? Experts point to these five developing trends as informing and shaping the transformation.
In higher education, it’s widely understood that student success and institutional success go hand-in-hand. As a result, colleges and universities spend countless dollars trying to support students on the journey toward achieving their degrees.But are these attempts working? What does student success really look like? And what barriers might be preventing students from succeeding in a specific institution? To ensure they’re making the best spending decisions and allocating limited resources in the most effective ways possible, colleges and universities require a means to measure student success and institutional opportunities – and that’s where analytics come in.
Today, over 100 MSCHE attendees came to the Frostburg State University (FSU) presentation on using a data platform to inform institutional assessment. FSU partners with HelioCampus to provide the data infrastructure and data science services to ensure that decision making and resource allocation are well informed by data. Sara-Beth Bittinger, Ed. D., Director of Assessment and Institutional Research and Denise Murphy, Assistant Vice President for Finance and Budget, from FSU walked the audience through how data is transformed in the data warehouse and translated into visualizations to inform decision making. Specific examples include analysis and visualization of the elements of the admissions funnel to inform recruitment strategies, efforts to better understand past institutional aid packaging practices to inform current financial aid strategies, and the development of a robust toolkit designed for academic department chairs to help them effectively manage their departments.
Institutions of higher learning continue to move rapidly toward data-informed decision making, and this movement was strongly reflected at the 45th annual North East Association for Institutional Research conference. The City of Bridges played host to almost 400 representatives from over 200 institutions and associations to better understand methods and best practices for Creating the Bridge to Data-Informed Decision Making.
Another great EDUCAUSE conference is in the books! Last week, our team had the opportunity to attend this important conference to connect with clients & friends, and moderate a panel of education leaders.
I recently had the pleasure of attending the EACUBO Annual Meeting in Buffalo, New York. The conference brought together College and University business officers from throughout the Northeast with the goal of sharing new ideas regarding how institutions can meet the financial challenges of a quickly changing higher education landscape. Among the topics included were succession planning, sustainability, and risk mitigation. A common underlying theme was how to use metrics and data analytics to support institutional efforts to make better decisions.
The mission of the North Carolina Community College System is to open the door to high-quality, accessible educational opportunities that minimize barriers to post-secondary education, maximize student success, develop a globally and multi-culturally competent workforce, and improve the lives and well-being of individuals. The 2018 NCCC Summit was a wonderful opportunity for educators and administrators across the state to come together and share knowledge and best practices for improving educational outcomes.
The keynote speaker challenged the audience with the following thoughts:
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 2018 UNC Cause annual conference, which was held in Greenville, NC on October 1-3. UNC CAUSE was formed in 1970 by the computing centers of all 16 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Its purpose? To promote cooperation and information exchange between the campuses of the UNC System in all areas related to information technology.
Last week, we had the opportunity to attend the 74th annual NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) 2018 Conference in beautiful Salt Lake City, UT. The focus of the conference was connecting professionals who are tasked with creating the appropriate bridge for students to enroll in the right academic program for them, whether that is coming from high school, an adult who is embarking on their first time in college, or a returning adult. A lot of the talk around the conference floor was around how colleges can attract and retain the right students for them, the changing student demographic, and associated expectations of today’s students (and their parents.) The growing importance of the role of transfer students and the value of a college degree were also top of mind for most institutions.
