New CT Leadership Summit Explores Data Practices that Drive Student Success

• By Rhea Kelly
• 07/23/21

Colleges and universities today are generating vast quantities of student data, and the explosive increase in use of digital tools during the pandemic has potentially piled even more data onto the heap. Yet sorting through the noise — integrating systems, applying analytics, gleaning practical insights and ultimately moving the needle on student success — remains one of higher education's biggest challenges. On Aug. 11, the Campus Technology Leadership Summit will explore data practices that drive student success: Join us for this free, one-day virtual event as education and IT leaders share their insights and best practices for making meaningful use of data now and building a data strategy for the future. On the agenda:

Why Higher Education Needs Analytics Now More than Ever
Many of today's challenges in higher education — declining enrollments, a global pandemic, and evolving student needs and expectations — are steeped in data. And institutions that develop analytics to inform strategic needs will be better positioned to survive and thrive in the future. In this session, Jason Simon, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Data, Analytics and Institutional Research at the University of North Texas, will offer lessons learned from UNT's Insights analytics initiative and key steps for moving from "data-rich, information-poor" to analytics success.

Creating a Culture of Evidence and Action
To achieve student success goals, institutions must put data at the heart of decision-making — but also follow through with strategic communications and interventions that make a measurable impact. In this session, Todd Brann, Senior Assistant Provost and Executive Director for Institutional Research, Analytics and Decision Support at the University of Kentucky, will share the principles and structure behind UK's student success efforts and how a laser focus on data and analytics allows the university to react quickly to trends, better support students and boost retention rates.

Deepening Our Understanding of Students Through Data
Higher education institutions are well versed in using data to inform decision-making — but when it comes to students, the information we collect can be one-dimensional. In this session, leaders from Achieving the Dream will share insights from "Knowing Our Students," a recently released guidebook examining what it means to really know students and how to use data more effectively to support student success and close equity gaps. Attendees will leave with an understanding of what is included in the guidebook, what data points are most useful to understand students in new ways, and a process to support the use of these data to design a student experience that meets students where they are.

The Campus Technology Leadership Summit will take place online on Wednesday, Aug. 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. PT. For more information and to register, visit the CT Summit site.