DATA-EVERYBODY HAS IT, but they aren't all using it the same way. By applying business intelligence (BI) to reporting, some administrators are taking data analysis to the next level. "BI provides a qualitatively enhanced relationship between the decision maker and the overwhelming amount of information created on a daily basis," explains Keith Myers, VP of the Technical Services Division of SunGard Higher Education. Successful BI helps decision makers reach a state of data exploration, integrate data across time, and uncover hidden relationships, he says.
"We've embarked on a new way to look at what we do and how we do it," says Marsha Drennon, president of State Fair Community College (Mo.). Administrators are in the process of implementing an Operational Data Store and Enterprise Data Warehouse from SunGard as part of their overall BI strategy.
Drennon's institution had to change to a more data-driven model after being approved for the Academic Quality Improvement Program from the Higher Learning Commission. "Our efforts at this new accreditation process focused on intense professional development, student centeredness, student success, and service to our community," she explains. Because the program requires institutions to work on four or five action items at all times, data-driven decision making is essential.
Once the new data systems are in place, administrators will be in a better position to analyze the information and decide whether any processes need to be changed, adds Michael Ash, vice president for student services at State Fair. The executive team now has eight key performance indicators they use as benchmarks and for comparison to other institutions.
"Community colleges are increasingly using data to manage persistence and retention outcomes and reporting on their success to the community," says Graham Tracey, director of higher education services at ARS Analytics, a consulting service. He points to accountability initiatives such as Achieving the Dream and a need to establish standards of success separate from those used by four-year institutions as driving factors for adoption.
'Community colleges are urgently charting the path towards public higher education's future with the aid of BI tools.' -Bill Graves, SunGard
"[Being data driven] makes us think about what we do and why we do it," says Drennon. Although implementing BI can be complex-the migration has taken about two years-she believes it is worthwhile. "Our trend lines are changing, and we can relate that back to what we're doing. When we run the reports, seeing where we've been and where we've gone is very exciting."
PRESSURE SPURS USE
Although BI can be a powerful tool, it is not widely used in higher education. According to a recent study by Datamonitor, an online data, analytic, and forecasting service, across all levels of higher education only 29 percent of institutions surveyed currently use BI for customer intelligence, which would cover recruiting and retention. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed intend to have it in the next six to 24 months.
With the enormous pressure community colleges are under to increase enrollment while keeping costs down, they are positioned to quickly benefit from BI. "BI applications are providing the evidence for market needs and the evidence for the alignment or misalignment of current institutional investments and programs with market needs," says Bill Graves, senior vice president of Academic Strategy with SunGard. "Community colleges, out of necessity, are urgently charting the path towards public higher education's future with the aid of BI tools and the culture of evidence and decisive action that they enable."
"We're looking to be able to not just have the data, but ascertain causal relationships," explains Jeffrey Rafn, president of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. "If 'X' exists, something will occur."
As an example, Rafn explains that the monitored, self-paced, open-entry business labs at NWTC had a 54 percent retention rate because some students were signing up in order to maintain 12 credits, allowing them to keep the college's health insurance. BI lets administrators track the trend and predict which students might become repeat offenders. Now students who don't complete two labs have to see an advisor before they can sign up again.
