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Data-Driven Decision Making
Dare To Share
5/1/2007
Initially, says Rheinschmidt, the consortium members examined data from precourse demographic surveys and course surveys, as well as reports from the online help desk (regarding student issues and concerns). But, he explains, the consortium is now using data in more sophisticated ways, such as for uncovering and examining trends. One example: Based on consortium data, the member colleges are discerning an interesting pattern regarding student age. “When we started six years ago,” Rheinschmidt says, “1 percent of our students were 17 or younger, which [generally] means they’re still in high school. Today, 8 percent of our enrollments are 17 years and younger.”Based on that information, the director says, “we’re able to start making some determinations and decisions; we’re able to ask questions like, ‘Okay, we have more high school students enrolling. How can we better facilitate communication [with them]?’” One solution to that challenge, for example, has been to set up an online advising module, since the data reveal that the first college course many students are taking is through the online system, rather than via face-to-face instruction.
Consortium Outlook: Expanding
Those who belong to a successful consortium generally predict a robust future for the paradigm, even though the movement has been a bit slow to take root. Yet growth is inevitable if only because as funds get tighter, the banding together to share software and expertise addresses at least one of the toughest challenges small colleges and universities face today: remaining competitive in the face of a growing need for the same sort of highend software tools that larger institutions can more easily afford to deploy. “I think you’re going to see a lot more of this from the small private colleges,” A-B College’s Markwood says flatly. “They don’t have the capital, or they don’t have the breadth of expertise within their staff and faculty to do certain things. But when we form teams and collaborations with other schools, [we] have more money to spend and more experts to help us.” In short: We have power.
::WEBEXTRA :: Get your roadmap to successful BI/DW in the session, “BI and Data Warehousing: Powering Better Decisions in Higher Ed” at Campus Technology 2007 in Washington, DC, July 30-Aug. 2. :: Banding together for technology purchasing power.
Linda L. Briggs is a freelance writer based in San Diego, Calif.
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