| | May 20169Discover Pathways to SuccessThe premise that higher education doesn't use data effectively to drive business needs to be checked for validity. When we think about driving business, we need to carefully consider the business that we are seeking to move forward. In education, business has to be learning and research. We lose credibility and the sense of public mission if we only focus on enrollment without learning. Much of the data we gather is about administrative and enrollment processing: counting enrolled students, counting students receiving financial aid, summing collected revenues, etc. These are good measures for how broadly we are achieving engagement and the university mission. We also need to gather data about learning measures and outcomes learning analytics are an emerging field for data collection. But the tragedy of learning analytics occurs, when we let it slip to "teaching to the test." Successful test scores in standardized tests do not necessarily measure creativity, personal discovery, critical thinking, and professional ethical judgment. We need to use data to discover pathways to success: Early discovery of a student's talents and personal goals. Promotion of student self reflection. How realistic are the personal goals that the student has set? How much support will the student receive from family and other support units to achieve those goals? How much personal resilience and dedication does the student demonstrate when working toward goals? Can we identify pathways and support that match the student's personal direction and initiative?Supporting student achievement to personal goals is the best way to drive business in a university environment. We have a lot to learn from industries that understand personalized marketing and product personalization. We are at the beginning of an era that will support personalized learning. This also loops back to cloud and other services those services that are packaged with strong data analysts are more valuable.Find More Success in the Sea of Trial and errorThe best way to foster innovation and growth is to support faculty. Our purpose is grounded in teaching and learning. Research, supports the discovery of new knowledge and innovation. All of this is centered on the contributions of faculty members. Faculty members, in turn, then share new knowledge and innovation with students, encouraging more innovation. The more success we find in these endeavors, the more there will be sustainable organic growth.There are three key focal areas that support innovation and growth: Providing Applications, Computing, and Storage to Support Collaborative Research These tools can be expensive. But enabling cross disciplinary and cross institutional research is critical to expanding ideas. Also, sharing resources leads efficiency. Providing Data to Faculty about Teaching Effectiveness Faculty members need encouragement and time to find new ways to teach. Sometimes the most difficult part about new teaching tools is developing the learning assessments and the outcomes review. Without data to show, what is working and what is not working, we can get lost in a sea of trial and error without really moving forward. Encouraging Universal Design for Learning (UDL)Students learn in a variety of ways and demonstrate a variety of skills, needs, interests, and background experiences. UDL principles and methods in the university sets may support learning and enrollment growth in non traditional student populations, supporting enrollment growth and achievement of the university mission. Supporting student achievement to personal goals is the best way to drive business in a university environmentTheresa Rowe
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