The past couple of months have seen a whirlwind of progress in Institutional Research at Marshall University. As we continue to refine our data processes and improve transparency, the transformation of our workflows has been nothing short of significant. Here are some key updates on what we have accomplished and what is on the horizon.
The SAS to SQL Conversion: A Major Milestone
One of the biggest achievements over the past quarter was converting all SAS scripts used for official state reporting to SQL. This was a painstaking and meticulous process, which I have actually referred to as sadistically fun, but the benefits of standardization, efficiency, and long-term sustainability made it worth the effort. A huge shout-out to my colleague Gordon Mitchell at Mountwest Community and Technical College for his support in making this transition possible as he shared insights from his scripts with me and I was able to combine that with knowledge of our home grown data warehouse to push these over the top. This conversion not only modernizes our data processing but also improves accessibility and adaptability for future reporting.
IPEDS Winter Collection Submission: A First-Time Oversight
For the first time, I had the opportunity to oversee the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS – NCES) winter collection submission. This experience involved writing several new SQL scripts, reviewing and refining existing ones, and identifying inconsistencies that need to be addressed moving forward. None of this could have been accomplished without the dedicated efforts of our team in IT, Financial Aid, and, of course, Jessica Lowman.
Welcoming Jessica Lowman to the IR Team
Speaking of Jessica, please join me in welcoming her “back” to the team! Jess, a faculty member at Marshall University, now also serves as Director of Institutional Research (and Assistant Professor / Archivist & Digital Stewardship Librarian). With previous experience in IR, Jess brings an incredible depth of knowledge and expertise to the team. We are excited to have her on board and look forward to her contributions in shaping the future of our data operations and Marshall University as a whole as her insights will be invaluable to our university’s future.
New Faculty Dashboards and Validation Tools
Over the past couple of months, we have also introduced new faculty dashboards in Power BI to track average faculty pay and status. These dashboards provide clear and actionable insights, ensuring that faculty data is managed efficiently and transparently and most importantly, up to date as deans and business managers now have a clear picture of the various faculty data points in a single location that are stored throughout Banner.
Additionally, we have rolled out a suite of data validation tools in Python and SQL, aptly named Automagic and Cleanslate. These tools have been game-changers in ensuring data accuracy and integrity, reinforcing our commitment to strong data governance.
A special mention to Sam Aretz from the IR team for developing a new validation dashboard, further solidifying our efforts in ensuring data quality so that our data stewards are aware of data cleaning needs long before those all-nighters we all just pulled when reports were due.
Academic Analytics for Deans
Deans now have access to a brand-new Academic Analytics tool in Power BI. This tool is designed to provide deans with a clear, concise view of academic performance, student outcomes, and faculty-related insights. This initiative aims to enhance decision-making at the academic leadership level through comprehensive, real-time analytics on class sizes, student credit hour generation and more. Coupled with our comprehensive budget model scripts, there is definitely not a lack of data available.
Transparency and Documentation: A New Era for IR
One of the most significant improvements we have made is in documenting and cataloging our nightly and weekly cron processes. For the first time in nearly three decades, all of these scripts are available to the entire team, and everyone has visibility into where our data comes from and how it is processed. This move toward openness, transparency, and data governance is a huge step forward in institutional research at Marshall.
What’s Next?
The momentum will not stop here. Over the next few months, we will focus on:
- Creating a Data Lake in Power BI to streamline data storage and retrieval.
- Updating the remaining SAS scripts in-house to pure SQL to complete our transition.
- Developing additional validation tools to further enhance data accuracy.
- Creating efficiencies for our next IPEDS submission to make the process smoother and more consistent.
- Transforming our internal data books to powerBI
We are excited about the progress we have made and even more thrilled about what is to come. A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to these improvements—your dedication to institutional research is shaping a more data-informed and transparent future for Marshall University.
Driving all decisions, with data!
Brian M. Morgan
Chief Data Officer, Marshall University