Full Description
How data-informed decision making can make colleges and universities more effective institutions.
The continuing importance of data analytics is not lost on higher education leaders, who face a multitude of challenges, including increasing operating costs, dwindling state support, limits to tuition increases, and increased competition from the for-profit sector. To navigate these challenges, savvy leaders must leverage data to make sound decisions. In Big Data on Campus, leading data analytics experts and higher ed leaders show the role that analytics can play in the better administration of colleges and universities.
Aimed at senior administrative leaders, practitioners of institutional research, technology professionals, and graduate students in higher education, the book opens with a conceptual discussion of the roles that data analytics can play in higher education administration. Subsequent chapters address recent developments in technology, the rapid accumulation of data assets, organizational maturity in building analytical capabilities, and methodological advancements in developing predictive and prescriptive analytics. Each chapter includes a literature review of the research and application of analytics developments in their respective functional areas, a discussion of industry trends, examples of the application of data analytics in their decision process, and other related issues that readers may wish to consider in their own organizational environment to find opportunities for building robust data analytics capabilities.
Using a series of focused discussions and case studies, Big Data on Campus helps readers understand how analytics can support major organizational functions in higher education, including admission decisions, retention and enrollment management, student life and engagement, academic and career advising, student learning and assessment, and academic program planning. The final section of the book addresses major issues and human factors involved in using analytics to support decision making; the ethical, cultural, and managerial implications of its use; the role of university leaders in promoting analytics in decision making; and the need for a strong campus community to embrace the analytics revolution.
Contributors: Rana Glasgal, J. Michael Gower, Tom Gutman, Brian P. Hinote, Braden J. Hosch, Aditya Johri, Christine M. Keller, Carrie Klein, Jaime Lester, Carrie Hancock Marcinkevage, Gail B. Marsh, Susan M. Menditto, Jillian N. Morn, Valentina Nestor, Cathy O'Bryan, Huzefa Rangwala, Timothy Renick, Charles Tegen, Rachit Thariani, Chris Tompkins, Lindsay K. Wayt, Karen L. Webber, Henry Y. Zheng, Ying Zhou
Contents
Foreword, by Christine M. Keller
Acknowledgments
Part I. Technology, Digitization, Big Data, and Analytics Maturity as the Enabling Conditions for Data-Informed Decision Making
Chapter 1. Data Analytics and the Imperatives for Data-Informed Decision Making in Higher Education
Karen L. Webber and Henry Y. Zheng
Chapter 2. Big Data and the Transformation of Decision Making in Higher Education
Braden J. Hosch
Chapter 3. Predictive Analytics and Its Uses in Higher Education
Henry Y. Zheng and Ying Zhou
Part II. The Ethical, Cultural, and Managerial Imperatives of Data-Informed Decision Making in Higher Education
Chapter 4. Limitations in Data Analytics: Potential Misuse and Misunderstanding in Data Reports and Visualizations
Karen L. Webber and Jillian N. Morn
Chapter 5. Guiding Your Organization's Data Strategy: The Roles of University Senior Leaders and Trustees in Strategic Analytics
Gail B. Marsh and Rachit Thariani
Chapter 6. Data Governance, Data Stewardship, and the Building of an Analytics
Organizational Culture
Rana Glasgal and Valentina Nestor
Part III. The Application of Analytics in Higher Education Decision Making: Case Studies
Chapter 7. Data Analytics and Decision Making in Admissions and Enrollment Management
Tom Gutman and Brian P. Hinote
Chapter 8. Predictive Analytics, Academic Advising, Early Alerts, and Student Success
Timothy M. Renick
Chapter 9. Constituent Relationship Management and Student Engagement Lifecycle
Cathy A. O'Bryan, Chris Tompkins, and Carrie Hancock Marcinkevage
Chapter 10. Learning Analytics for Learning Assessment: Complexities in Efficacy, Implementation, and Broad Use
Carrie Klein, Jaime Lester, Huzefa Rangwala, and Aditya Johri
Chapter 11. Using Data Analytics to Support Institutional Financial and Operational Efficiency
Lindsay K. Wayt, Susan M. Menditto, J. Michael Gower, and Charles Tegen
Part IV. Concluding Comments
Chapter 12. Data-Informed Decision Making and the Pursuit of Analytics Maturity in Higher Education
Karen L. Webber and Henry Y. Zheng
Contributors
Index
