Educause Assessment Tool Gauges Institutional Analytics Capabilities

Educause has created a new self-assessment tool to help colleges and universities better understand how their analytics capabilities can enhance teaching and learning practices, improve student outcomes and advance institutional goals. The 26-question survey provides a rubric to define an institution's current analytics capabilities (as opposed to future goals) and serve as a baseline for further discussion.

The assessment walks the survey-taker through five "capability categories": Workforce; Data Governance; Data Management; Leadership; and Data-Informed Culture.

  • Workforce speaks to institutional culture around data literacy, staffing of analytics-related roles, and overall communication and collaboration;
  • Data Governance covers standardization of data sources, data definitions, policies and practices supporting good data stewardship;
  • Data Management encompasses infrastructure, digital ethics and data integration;
  • Leadership speaks to how institutional leaders understand and prioritize data analytics on a strategic level; and
  • Data-Informed Culture assesses the use of analytics for decision-making, cross-institutional collaboration, change management and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

Upon completing the assessment, institutions receive a copy of the responses via e-mail, which can be shared internally as desired.

"Analytics is a powerful tool that colleges and universities are embracing to advance student success initiatives, improve quality and efficiency, and enhance teaching, learning and research," said Betsy Reinitz, director of enterprise IT programs at Educause, in a statement. "Using analytics to inform decision-making in those areas is more important now than ever before as institutions continue to adapt to changes brought by the pandemic."

The tool is available to Educause members here.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • pattern featuring interconnected lines, nodes, lock icons, and cogwheels

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.5 Expands Automation, Security

    Open source solution provider Red Hat has introduced Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.5, the latest version of its flagship Linux platform.

  • glowing lines connecting colorful nodes on a deep blue and black gradient background

    Juniper Launches AI-Native Networking and Security Management Platform

    Juniper Networks has introduced a new solution that integrates security and networking management under a unified cloud and artificial intelligence engine.

  • a digital lock symbol is cracked and breaking apart into dollar signs

    Ransomware Costs Schools Nearly $550,000 per Day of Downtime

    New data from cybersecurity research firm Comparitech quantifies the damage caused by ransomware attacks on educational institutions.

  • landscape photo with an AI rubber stamp on top

    California AI Watermarking Bill Garners OpenAI Support

    ChatGPT creator OpenAI is backing a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content in the form of a digital "watermark." The proposed legislation, known as the "California Digital Content Provenance Standards" (AB 3211), aims to ensure transparency in digital media by identifying content created through artificial intelligence. This requirement would apply to a broad range of AI-generated material, from harmless memes to deepfakes that could be used to spread misinformation about political candidates.