6 Trends to Impact Institutional Data and Analytics

EDUCAUSE Report Addresses Technologies Shaping Higher Ed

EDUCAUSE’s 2022 Horizon Report: Data and Analytics Edition, an inaugural release, offers insights into trends and implications for higher education. The report, summarized in a Campus Technology article, was created by a panel of higher ed data analytics experts who identified six key technologies and practices out of 25 that will have “a significant impact on the future of higher education data and analytics.”

EDUCAUSE’s six major recommendations include:

1. Data management and governance. While systems responsible for workflow automation and data privacy are critical for institutional success, most schools manage these critical resources by committee, rather than devoting dedicated staff to them. The result: lost opportunities and wasted effort. The critical nature of this “must do” puts it at the top of the list of critical practices to institute.
2. Unifying data sources. In educational institutions, data is siloed across departments and people. When data lacks unification it can negatively impact decision-making and the ability to engage in data analysis to help drive productivity and best practices.
3. Modern data architecture. As technologies have evolved, so too has the need for modern data architecture to encompass more advanced analytics capabilities made possible by technologies like machine learning and natural language processing.
4. Data literacy training. Data used to be the purview of those who had been trained in its use. Not anymore. Today everyone in your institution should have basic data literacy to effectively leverage the value of the data now available to them.
5. DEI for data and analytics. Yes, diversity, equity, and inclusion have a role to play when it comes to data and data management. As Rhea Kelly, the author of the Campus Technology article writes: “Collectively, the field is reexamining who makes choices about what data get collected, how they are collected, what they are used for, and what implicit biases are baked into every step.”
6. Assessing and improving institutional data and analytics capabilities. Technology is a fast-moving and continually evolving area of practice. Consequently, professionals in the field need to be continually assessing and improving their own knowledge and capabilities to stay on top of changes and ensure their institutions are benefitting from new advances.

To support institutions throughout the nation, the Clearinghouse serves the education and workforce communities and all learners with access to trusted data, related services, and insights. Examples include the Postsecondary Data Partnership, Myhub, StudentTracker, and our Research Center.

Speak with your Clearinghouse representative to learn how Clearinghouse data can help your students and institutions succeed!

Additional Resources:

• Read the EDUCAUSE report