How universities can use data to rise up the rankings

Gary Bell, executive director at Civica, discusses how universities can use data for league table success

Charley Rogers

Higher education is a competitive space. There are more than 130 universities in direct competition in the UK, all competing to attract students from across the country and beyond. Those within the sector are all too aware that an institution’s standing within the league tables directly impacts their ability to attract students. However, according to figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), university applications were down by 11,000 last year despite a surge in interest from overseas students. And as those prospective students that universities so desperately want to attract are much more technology savvy and demanding, universities must move quickly to transform themselves into educational institutions fit for a technology-assisted future.

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The key to providing a better and more personalised experience for students is understanding their wants and needs in the first place – and this is where data comes into play. However, for many traditional institutions the move to becoming data and insights driven won’t be easy. Here, we discuss three of the key challenges that universities in the UK must overcome to remain competitive and continue to be a top choice for students both from home and abroad.

Recognise your standing

For a university to understand its position in the league tables it’ll take more than looking at its standing and how far it has climbed or fallen. Universities must analyse the performance of those above and beneath their current position and ask what they doing differently. And what can be done to improve and overtake those above?

Through use of a single data platform, universities can analyse results year-on-year and look at where they have made improvements and where they still have a way to go. They can then make better informed investment decisions on where to focus time and budget to ensure they’re not only rising up the rankings, but also providing the best experience for students and faculty members.

Use data to provide a holistic view

There is no doubt that the need for real-time access to key data and its context is fundamental to any organisation transforming the way it operates. Many universities may argue that they already collect data on student numbers and attendance, for example, but how accurate and up-to-date is it? And does the organisation have the skills and resources to accurately analyse and interpret it?

There is no doubt that the need for real-time access to key data and its context is fundamental to any organisation transforming the way it operates.

The first step to gaining insight from data is having clear, structured information which is uniform across all departments in the university. For example, any university should be able to access real-time data on how many students are currently registered and attending courses, what the retention and attendance rate is across departments, and importantly, how it compares to others.

Universities must also use data to improve the student experience. Let’s use the example of a student who attends university but lives a two-hour commute away due to caring for a parent. Through taking a 360-degree view, a university can spot the challenges a student may face coming to lectures and organise their timetable to ensure they don’t have any early morning or late lectures which they would be unable to attend.

Collaboration across departments and institutions is crucial

To get this clean data there must be standard procedures in place to enable comparisons and analysis across departments and universities.

Typically, every university department and institution has its own set of procedures, but to provide students with a common experience, standardisation would be beneficial. This means putting in place a single credit framework, single marking criteria, standardised submission dates and same resit policy across the board. If this was in place, institutions across the UK could accurately compare their information on students and spot trends to boost university numbers and reduce dropout rates.

As well as academic leaders, universities need commercially astute leaders who understand the financial and wider business impact of student attendance and retention and focus on resolving any issues. Ultimately, this will not only help universities financially, it will also help drive league table rankings.

A single, unified data platform

Many university leaders today feel quite far removed from the end goal. This is why having an outcomes-focused partner who can break the journey down into achievable and manageable chunks is crucial to enacting change which both benefits students, and streamlines work for faculty members, while ensuring investment is focused on areas most in need.

As well as academic leaders, universities need commercially astute leaders who understand the financial and wider business impact of student attendance and retention and focus on resolving any issues.

Fundamental change in how processes are run will take a significant amount of time, but universities need to start now. By bringing together fragmented, disparate information sets from separate departments, institutions can create a complete, holistic view of each student. Organisations can break down the silos to create a single, reliable version of the truth – unlocking greater efficiency, accuracy and the ability to make more informed decisions. An effective data strategy and Master Data Management (MDM) solution can help universities create better – and more personalised – experiences for students.

Higher education institutions need only look to other sectors to appreciate the importance of understanding and governing data to provide improved outcomes. At North Lanarkshire Council, MDM is enabling the council to reinvigorate their approach to digital transformation and the services they offer citizens. Peter Tolland, CIO, states “[MDM] is what digital engagement should look like in the future… in terms of the access to the clean data we need to make this a reality, our MDM solution is at the heart of it all.”

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Without doubt, a single, unified data platform and integrated services are crucial to the future of higher education. Through a well-considered data strategy delivering better insights, institutions can provide a complete, accurate and sharable view of their data to make more informed decisions. To meet the challenges of an ever-changing digital landscape, universities need access to clean, accessible, reliable and understandable data – only then will they see the bigger picture and sustain their position higher up the league table.