The Analytics Revolution in Higher Education

"Comprised of thirteen erudite, impressively informative, and exceptionally thoughtful, thought-provoking articles by experts in the field of big data management and education, The Analytics Revolution in Higher Education is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to both college and university library Education & Data Processing collections and supplemental studies reading lists."

- Midwest Book Review

From the Foreword:

“The Analytics Revolution in Higher Education presents a clear and consistent message that a paradigm shift is taking place around data and analytics in higher education. The case can easily be made for a paradigm shift in data and analytics based on the influx of new technologies and new services provided in data-related higher education decision making. Decision support in the new paradigm includes leadership in questioning and predicting decisions that are arising or should be advancing on agendas. More importantly, the evidence shows that a re-imagined institutional research function will be essential to meeting the challenges facing higher education in a rapidly changing landscape.”

Randy L. Swing - independent consultant

“The strength of this book lies in its recognition that the introduction of analytics to higher education, like any other innovation, is deeply tied to processes of organizational change. The focus on the structural, cultural, and behavioral components of organizations using analytics data, especially IR offices and policy stakeholders, are a welcome and needed addition to the literature on analytics use in higher education. The expertise of the authors, who have learned via analytics-driven change processes in their own organizations strengthen the recommendations they offer in each of the chapters. Truly, this edited text is more about organizational change and change management than analytics, specifically.

The authors offer useful advice from real-world experiences about ways in which campus leaders, IR professionals, and other higher education stakeholders can work to address the structures, practices, and cultures of their organizations to integrate analytics data use into the fabric of their organizations.”

- Teachers College Record

Foreword by Randy L. Swing
Preface by Jonathan S. Gagliardi, Amelia Parnell, and Julia Carpenter-Hubin
Acknowledgements

1) The Analytics Revolution in Higher Education—Jonathan S. Gagliardi
2) Higher Education Decision Support: Building Capacity, Adding Value—Daniel R. Cohen-Vogel
3) Cultural and Organizational Structures and Functions of Institutional Research—Julia Carpenter-Hubin and Jason Sullivan
4) Data Analytics for Student Success: Elaborate Profusion of Institutional Research into Student Affairs—Amelia Parnell
5) The IT-IR Nexus: Three Essentials for Driving Institutional Change Through Data and Analytics—Timothy M. Chester
6) Pursuit of Analytics and the Challenge of Organizational Change Management for Institutional Research—Angela Y. Baldasare
7) Enrollment to Career: Dynamics of Education and the Workforce—Stephanie Bond-Huie
8) State System Research: Increasing Products, Data, Roles, and Stakeholders—Angela Bell
9) Moving from Data to Action: Changing Institutional Culture and Behavior—Desdemona Cardoza and Jeff Gold
10) New and Emerging Frameworks for Decision Analytics: A Data Governance Perspective—Ronald L. Huesman and Steve A. Gillard
11) Examining How the Analtics Revolution Matters to Higher Education Policy Makers: Data Analytics, Systemness, and Enabling Student Success—Jason E. Lane
12) Evolving from Reflective to Predictive: Montgomery Community College and Analytics—Celeste M. Schwartz, Kent Phillipe, David Kowalski, and Angela Polec
13) Unpacking the Messiness of Harnessing the Analytics Revolution—Jonathan S. Gagliardi

Editors and Contributors
Index

Jonathan S. Gagliardi

Jonathan S. Gagliardi is the Assistant Vice President for Analytics, Policy, and Strategy, Lehman College, The City University of New York. He previously served as the Associate Director for the American Council on Education Center for Policy Research and Strategy, and as a Visiting Fellow for the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Prior to that, Jonathan was a Chancellor’s Fellow of the State University of New York System and the Deputy Director of the National Association of System Heads. In these roles Dr. Gagliardi helped create and implement national completion initiatives aimed at scaling out evidence-based practices that promote student success. Jonathan was a co-principal investigator for the multi-year research project, Meeting Demands for Improvements in Public System Institutional Research, which focused on examining and transforming the IR function.

Dr. Gagliardi previously served the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education on matters related to research, economic, and community development, efficiency and innovation, and data governance and stewardship. He is recognized for his expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship, serving as an Advisory Board member for the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity, and for the Center for Leadership and Service at the University at Albany. Dr. Gagliardi holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy and Leadership, M.S. (Higher Education Policy and Leadership) and B.A. (history and sociology) from the University at Albany. Jonathan’s research has focused on innovation, organizational transformation, the intersection of higher education and the workforce, and student success.

Amelia Parnell

Amelia Parnell has over 15 years of higher education experience in national, state, and campus-level roles including association management, legislative policy, internal audit, TRIO programs, and graduate-level teaching. She is currently the vice president for research and policy at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she leads many of the association’s scholarly and advocacy-focused activities. Parnell writes and speaks frequently about topics related to student affairs, college affordability, student learning outcomes, higher education leadership, and institutions’ use of data and analytics. Prior to the release of this book, Parnell coedited The Analytics Revolution in Higher Education: Big Data, Organizational Learning, and Student Success.

Parnell understands the importance of making data-informed decisions, and she enjoys explaining how professionals can use data to address complex issues. Her ongoing service to the field of higher education includes contributing to several national advisory boards; mentoring students; and hosting her podcast, Speaking of College. Parnell holds a doctorate in higher education from Florida State University and a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida A&M University.

Julia Carpenter-Hubin

Julia Carpenter-Hubin serves as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research & Planning at The Ohio State University, where she and her team of data analysts focus on turning data into strategic information to support faculty and student success. A Past President of the Association for Institutional Research, Julie has also served as chair of the Association of American Universities Data Exchange and as a panelist for both the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and on Sample Surveys. Additionally, Julie is a peer reviewer and a member of the Team Chair Corps for the Higher Learning Commission. Her service in these positions has given her a view of how data are currently used beyond her own institution, and informed her understanding of the need for more effective use of data in decision-making nationally. A member of the Advising Board for Academic Analytics, LLC, Julie engages regularly with a forward-thinking private company to discuss new directions and uses for faculty scholarly productivity data.

Julie’s research interests include performance measurement in higher education and using performance measurement to develop improvement strategies. Among her previous publications relevant to this topic are “Data Exchange Consortia: Characteristics, Current Examples, and Developing a New Exchange,” with Rebecca Carr and Rosemary Hayes (Handbook for Institutional Research, Howard, McLaughlin, and Knight. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012. 420- 433), and “Making Measurement Meaningful,” with Eunice Hornsby (Association for Institutional Research Professional File, No. 97, Fall 2005).