Data Usage Within Higher Education Departments: An In-Depth Case Study with Analysis

Abstract

With ever-increasing demands on higher education institutions to provide data for both accountability and improvement purposes, institutions have responded by establishing centralized institutional research (IR) offices to collect, maintain, and analyze institutional data. IR offices’ primary responsibility is to respond to the external accountability demands and to the needs of the upper administration. However, it is at the department level where data may be directly used to make decisions that can lead to improvement in the quality of the programs. Using a case study research design, this study provides an in-depth analysis of how five academic departments within one school used data by examining the Program Review process. Through an analysis of documents and interviews with those involved in the process, findings revealed that departments do use data for decision-making. This study found that the overwhelming majority of the data used is qualitative and comes from department, not institutional, sources. Two factors were found to affect the use of data. One factor is that data at the program level is not easily accessible. More importantly, it is not accurate and not trusted as a basis for decision-making. The second factor is that those involved in the Program Review process do not feel that the organization appropriately values the data or the process. Recommendations are provided to address the influences of these factors. Recommendations regarding data include providing resources and establishing processes to improve accuracy and accessibility of data. Recommendations regarding organizational issues include improvements in the Program Review process and in the school’s planning process. These recommendations are distinct, yet they are intertwined. Implementing one recommendation, without the other will not lead to changes in the use of data in this school.