Arkansas Using Data Quality Tools in Information Quality Graduate Program

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 03/24/08

The University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR) has decided to use a DataFlux application in its information quality master's degree program. Students will be working with dfPower Studio, a suite of tools for data quality and data integration activities, including data discovery, business rule creation and execution, workflow management and other functions necessary for improving and consolidating data.

"DataFlux technology provides an...interface that can help our students begin to understand the day-to-day processes necessary to maintaining information quality," said John Talburt, professor of information science and Acxiom chair of information quality at UALR. "Beyond its application as a tool in the lab, our students have used dfPower Studio for a wide variety of projects, and it has served as a way to link the principles of course work with hands-on projects."

The university uses the DataFlux product as a learning resource for the university's "Data Quality Tools and Industry Landscape" course to show students how to use software in real-world scenarios. Users also incorporate the software's data-matching capabilities into lab work and capstone projects.

Part of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, the Information Quality program was founded in 2006. The program has grown over the last two years to 48 students from 25 in 2006. A similar program was started at the University of Westminster in London, and another is in the approval process at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. In January 2008 UALR also introduced an Information Quality Emphasis in its Applied Science Ph.D. program to accommodate students who want to continue their studies to the doctoral level.