We don’t just guess. We use data to make informed decisions.
As part of the OneWSU initiative, the University is developing a data management plan, including a roadmap to build a data governance structure and an enhanced analytics framework that will support and advance a data-informed culture throughout the WSU system.
This initiative began with an assessment of the current state data management and reporting landscape at WSU, focusing on the 4 key pillars of Data, Process, People, and Technology.
A transformative approach to data use
Washington State University students will engage in scholarship, research, and experiential learning activities to prepare future leaders, scholars, and global citizens.
- As outlined in the WSU System strategic plan and OneWSU guiding principles, data should drive decision-making. We are creating a culture at WSU of data and using it effectively to expand our reach and land-grant mission.
Data governance is already happening in the WSU system, but we have room for improvement. The Data Initiative for the WSU System aims to create and maintain reliable systems to serve the institution with clean, reliable data.
With live integrations, data governance tools, and an enterprise data warehouse, this process will be much more comprehensive, easier to use, efficient, and cost effective than current processes.
- Launch phase 1 of data transformation
- Allocate resources, including existing resources, to support the launch
- Organizational realignment to bring Institutional Research under Strategy, Planning, and Analysis
Overview: Data Management, Governance, and Analytics
As part of the OneWSU initiative, the University has begun efforts around developing a data management plan, including a roadmap to build a data governance structure and an enhanced analytics framework that will support and advance a data-informed culture throughout the WSU system. This initiative begins with an assessment of the current state data management and reporting landscape at WSU, focusing on the 4 key pillars of Data, Process, People, and Technology.
Assessment Objectives and Timeline
The purpose of this assessment is to benchmark the current state of WSU’s Data Management, Governance, and Reporting functions against an industry-wide ‘maturity curve’ – i.e., identifying both strengths and pain points within the organization that will be used as input for an overall Data Management and Reporting strategy and roadmap for WSU as part of the OneWSU Initiative for Data-Informed Decision-Making.
The overall Data Management and Reporting strategy and roadmap will focus both on overall strategic goals for the organization, as well as prioritizing specific areas of opportunity and outcomes based on the results of the assessment and input from the organization members via workshop sessions and a detailed survey for stakeholders to complete.
Survey Results
After receiving and analyzing the OneWSU: Initiative for Data-Informed Decision-Making survey results, we are happy to share some of the survey analysis in the form of a Tableau Storyboard. Since this is an initiative about using data to make decisions, we figured a data-informed approach would be a good starting point! Overall, WSU was benchmarked as being at level 2 (Opportunistic) out of 5 on the Data Management and Analytics maturity curve – which is expected for a state higher education system of this size.
