New Report Outlines More Effective Use of Data

Complete College America (CCA), a national non-profit organization with the mission of raising postsecondary attainment in the U.S., has released a report titled, "Using a Measurement System to Strengthen Student Success Reforms" along with a companion workbook that provides step-by-step guidance and tools toward the effective and impactful use of data.

The goal is to build and sustain a culture of data and measurement for institutions and states. At a time of declining enrollment and retention as well as other changes to higher education due to the pandemic, the report notes that it is essential to make informed decisions on how to improve student success and completion. 

“If data is supposed to be depicting student reality so you can improve that reality, you have to know on the front end what type of data you’re looking for,” said Charles Ansell, vice president for research, policy and advocacy at CCA. This involves looking at metrics and measurements in alignment with the strategies to identify the necessary data.

“If you care about things like racial equity and college attainment, then identify the metrics you care about, and then from there identify the data you need,” said Ansell. “We’re concerned first and foremost with making sure that you’ve identified the full measurement system that you need to be able to track whether you’re meeting your mission or not.

“That way, no reform effort becomes a mere fad, but rather it becomes part of your ongoing operations,” he added.

The guidebook and its tools can help a college or university know whether it is meeting its student success mission, identify institutional performance gaps, develop and assess the impact of specific strategies and initiatives, inform decision making and generate shareable information.