Using research and data to improve student success at Delaware State University
Challenge
How might we use research and data to inform operational and strategic efforts to improve student success?
Strategy
Seven-pronged effort:
- Partnered institutional research (IR) with faculty and academic leadership
- Employed a cross-functional team together to provide different perspectives
- Expanded the role of data at the university to beyond external reporting and compliance
- Developed a framework to analyze data for a new initiative, I5O (e.g., what is the issue, information, insights, solution, implementation, and outcome)
- Used predictive analytics to identify student re-enrollment behaviors
- Leveraged data to address questions regarding student academic performance, enrollment, retention, housing, tuition waivers, and scholarships
- Implemented data dashboards so campus leaders can better gauge student performance and progress
Outcome
Now Enrollment Management and IR analyze pre-registration data and share progress through a dashboard that can be viewed by deans and the university’s president. In the last three years, the pre-registration rate has increased by 13%. The university can predict which students will re-enroll in any college or university with about 88% accuracy and 97% accuracy for those who will remain at Delaware State.
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Brainstorming prompts for you and your team to consider
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