Transcript Slide 1

Data for Higher Education
Policymaking:
Issues of Access, Analysis, and
Presentation
ASHE Graduate Student Public Policy Seminar
Hans L’Orange and David Wright
November 17, 2005
Introductions
Who/What is SHEEO?
 National association of state higher
education coordinating and governing
boards
 Broadly, the mission of SHEEO is to assist
its members and the states in developing
and sustaining excellent systems of higher
education
Introductions
SHEEO’s mission objectives:

Emphasize the importance of planning and coordination
for higher education by promoting strategic planning and
statewide coordination.

Promote cooperative relationships in the collection and
exchange of data and information, development of
standard definitions and practices, and conduct of
studies.

Formulate and recommend desirable guidelines for state
and federal relationships to institutions of higher
education.

Encourage studies and other action to advance statewide
planning and coordination.
Introductions
SHEEO pursues its mission by:

Organizing regular professional development meetings
for its members and their senior staff;

Maintaining regular systems of communication among
the professional staffs of member agencies;

Serving as a liaison between the states and the federal
government;

Studying higher education policy issues and state
activities and publishing reports to inform the field; and

Implementing projects to enhance the capacity of the
states and SHEEO agencies to improve higher education.
Background
Data important as the environment has
become increasingly…
 Competitive
 For higher ed, systems, institutions,
and faculty
 Distributed
 Technological advancements have
“freed” data
• Greater access, expectations, and
abilities
 Political
Background
Functions of data within the policy setting

Set the context, boundaries, and conditions
for decision-making

Ideally, you need data before the
conversation begins (not always the case)

Agree on “the facts” before discussing goals,
objectives, strategy

Understand “where we are”

Support tough decisions about where you’re
going and how to get there
Background
Higher ed challenges that require good data

Enhance student enrollment

Support student success

Maintain financial viability

Operate strategically
 Plan realistically
 Allocate resources appropriately
 Support decision making
 Assess management outcomes

Renew accreditation

Demonstrate accountability
Background
Data, information, and knowledge

Outside some context, data are just
meaningless points in space and time, without
reference to either space or time.

Information relates to description, definition, or
perspective (what, who, when, where).

Knowledge comprises strategy, practice,
method, or approach (how).

Wisdom embodies principle, insight, moral, or
archetype (why).
Gene Bellinger (2004).
http://www.systems-thinking.org/kmgmt/kmgmt.htm
Background
Beliefs
Data to
policy Preconceptions
Assertions
of Truth
Policy
Bias
Stakeholder
Needs
Experience
Anecdotes
Informed Stakeholders
(Knowledge)
“Story”
Facts
Anecdotes
Graphs/Tables
Needs Analysis
Dogma
Information
Analysis
Data
Requirements
Data
Background
Good data
REVEALING
USEFUL
AVAILABLE
TIMELY
COMPREHENSIVE
RELEVANT
INTUITIVE
RELIABLE AND
VALID
REPRESENTATIVE
USED
APPROPRIATE
COMPARISON
GROUP
JUST ENOUGH
Source: Merrill Schwartz, AGB
Background
The right amount of the right data
“There are two equally effective ways of
keeping a board in the dark. One is to
provide them with too little information. The
other, ironically, is to provide them with too
much.”
- From “Building Better Boards,” by David A. Nadler,
Harvard Business Review, May 2004, p. 109
Background
Common mistakes in the use of data for
policymaking at the institution board level

Data overload

Inappropriate level of detail

Lack of governance perspective

Lack of strategic relevance

Insufficient distribution

Inattention to time constraints

Reliance on anecdote

Lack of context
Data access
Data, data everywhere

General references
 Measuring Up
 Higheredinfo.org
 NCES products
• IPEDS
• Tools: Executive Peer Tool (ExPT), Peer
Analysis System (PAS), and Dataset
Cutting Tool (DCT)
 Census products (CPS, American
Community Survey
 Regional sites (SREB, WICHE)
 Mortenson’s Postsecondary OPPORTUNITY
Data access
Data, data everywhere

Students and learning
 NCES: IPEDS (GRS), sample surveys
 ACT and College Board
 NSSE and CCSSE

Faculty and staff
 NCES
• IPEDS (Fall Staff, Faculty Salaries)
• NSOPF
 AAUP
 CUPA
Data access
Data, data everywhere

Finance and facilities
 NCES: IPEDS, NPSAS
 SHEEO SHEF (annual), T&F policies survey
(triennial)
 Illinois State “Grapevine” survey
 APPA (core indicators on facilities)
 NASBO (fiscal survey)
 NACUBO (endowments, comparative stats)
 Tuition surveys - Washington HECB,
College Board, NASULGC
 NASSGAP (state financial aid)
 ACE Pell Grant report
Data access
Data, data everywhere

Adult/workforce
 NCES: Nat’l Assessment of Adult Literacy
 www.higheredinfo.org (under “Special
Analyses)
 ACE GED report

Still other data sources address:
 Governance
 Policy (WICHE SPIDO)
 Emerging policy issues
 Technology, distance education
 K-12
Data access
Recent initiatives that could affect data
availability and quality

HEA Reauthorization
 Major issues are affordability, net price, the
impact of student mobility and graduation
rates, and “better consumer information”
 IPEDS unit record (UR) proposal

Alternatives to a federal UR system
 “Huge IPEDS”
 Linking state UR systems
• Building on Following the Mobile Student
Data access
39 states
have unit
record
systems
Data access
Other alternatives to a federal UR system

Expand NCES sample studies

National Student Clearinghouse

Academy One

Data Quality Campaign (K-12)

Any solution must adequately address issues of…
• Burden
• Currency/timeliness
• Privacy (FERPA)
• Security
• Relevance
• Trust
(translates as “accountability”)
Data analysis and presentation
The two cultures differ in terms of…

Rhythm and calendar

Language and writing style

R2 vs. ROI

Academic freedom

Nature and timing of “iterativeness”

Where the conversation is carried out
 Academic: journals, conferences, listservs
 Political: policy transfer, websites, hallways
Data analysis and presentation
To maximize your effectiveness in the policy
world…

Know the policy!
 Your data often contain artifacts of policy

Know the basic analytical conventions
 FTE; inflation adjustment

Produce an “elevator ride” document
 In addition to report and executive
summary

“Write backward”
 Recommendations first, methodology last
Data analysis and presentation
To maximize your effectiveness in the policy
world…
 Tell stories
 For illustration; not the same as basing
policy on anecdote
 Paint pictures
Data analysis and presentation
“Telling stories”
“Despite increases, tuition is below national average”
by Jennifer Peltz
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
June 27, 2005
Florida makes a point of keeping tuition low at its public universities and community
colleges. But tell that to Sean Chapman.
He's a full-time student with a full-time job, working his way through a Florida
Atlantic University finance degree with a position at a brokerage. Tuition and fees
have risen 19 percent since he started four years ago, and they're likely to jump
another 5 percent in the fall. Chapman's got about $7,000 in student loans already
and at least a year to go.
"I just try not to think about it," groans Chapman, 21, a finance major who grew up
near Pembroke Pines.
Data analysis and presentation
“Telling stories”
“Despite increases, tuition is below national average” (cont’d)
Together, public universities and community colleges educate eight of every 10
college students in Florida, according to federal statistics. The schools are founded
on the premise that the state and its students are sharing costs, with the state
picking up the lion's share.
But that share is shrinking. Students' portion of the tab grew from about 23 percent
to about 28 percent between 1995-96 and 2003-04, the last year for which figures
are available from State Higher Education Executive Officers. The nonprofit group's
annual studies reflect what's actually collected from students and their families, not
what's paid on their behalf by federal, state or college-sponsored grants.
If that doesn't sound like much of a difference, try this: An FAU or FIU student's
tuition and fees grew more than five times as fast as the state's per-student
spending on higher education, as measured by the officers group. A local community
college student's costs grew more than three times as fast. The student costs are
calculated for students like Chapman: full-time undergraduates paying a discounted
Florida-resident rate…
Data analysis and presentation
Pictures worth a thousand words
Data analysis and presentation
Pictures worth a thousand words
U.S. Counties by Educational Needs Index Quartile
Source: www.educationalneedsindex.com
Analysis and presentation
9th to 12th Grade
Massachusetts
Iow a
Pennsylvania
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Minnesota
New Jersey
North Dakota
Maine
Nebraska
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Kansas
Vermont
Indiana
Virginia
Delaw are
Illinois
Missouri
New York
Colorado
Wyoming
Michigan
North Carolina
Maryland
Ohio
Calif ornia
Montana
Utah
Washington
West Virginia
Oregon
Florida
Arizona
South Carolina
Idaho
Tennessee
Alabama
Kentucky
Haw aii
Mississippi
Arkansas
Louisiana
Oklahoma
Georgia
New Mexico
Texas
Nevada
Alaska
Pictures
worth a
thousand
words
Percent loss
at each
stage of
transition
HS Graduate to College
25
College Entrance to Graduation
23
17
23
29
28
29
26
19
30
31
23
27
20
29
26
22
30
26
28
31
16
27
17
24
14
28
25
25
16
College Graduates
25
31
26
24
35
U.S. Counties by Educational Needs Index Quartile
23
35
16
18
34
22
27
33
26
22
27
26
14
27
26
35
21
19
20
24
29
17
29
27
19
20
41
21
30
33
36
31
18
19
18
18
22
41
20
18
20
33
30
18
19
21
28
27
19
24
34
25
21
20
39
18
22
31
31
18
22
17
36
22
16
36
16
17
26
17
52
16
29
39
25
15
20
45
23
41
15
17
30
49
42
45
21
41
25
34
27
36
20
14
21
14
21
13
13
13
23
35
23
12
21
37
21
25
12
11
22
41
38
12
20
24
29
31
12
24
48
38
13
27
44
20
14
21
26
44
40
14
20
26
26
27
14
15
17
26
16
24
33
23
16
16
36
33
0
22
43
32
11
17
35
40
11
21
60
Source: www.higheredinfo.org, from NCES, ACT Institutional Survey, and IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey
22
22
29
21
23
22
25
24
24
80
6
100
Data analysis and presentation
Pictures worth a thousand words
Highest Attainment Level of HS Dropouts 10 Years Later
13,742 High School Dropouts from 1990-1991
• Dropouts who
would have
graduated with the
class of 1991
attained education
credentials,
including high
school diplomas or
equivalencies, at
much lower rates
than their HS grad
counterparts.
Masters <1%
Attainment Status
unchanged 68.2%*
College
Credit
Vocational
<1%
Bachelors
~1%
AA ~1%
GEDs
20.8%
Note: Excludes any credentials earned out of state.
Source: Florida Education & Training Placement Information Program
Vocational
Certificates
Adult High 4.4%
School
Diplomas
5%
Data analysis and presentation
Pictures worth a thousand words
Data analysis and
presentation
Pictures worth a
thousand words
(variation on a
theme)
Data analysis and presentation
Bringing it all together
 A few real-world examples: web
site demonstrations
Parting shots

You’re entering a grand conversation

Being a good conversationalist means…
 Having something to say
 Listening
 Allowing that the other person just might be
right

Acknowledge biases
 Disciplinary
 Institutional
 Personal
Parting shots
On the nature of biases in the policy world
Pareidolia - a type of illusion or
misperception involving a vague or
obscure stimulus being perceived
as something clear and distinct.
Parting shots
A decade-old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear an image
of the Virgin Mary sold on eBay for $28,000.
Parting shots
Candles, flowers and a painting of the Virgin Mary
embracing John Paul line the section of the Kennedy
Expressway underpass believed to hold an image of
the Virgin.
Parting shots
In 1996, a cinnamon bun thought to bear the
likeness of Mother Teresa was sold in a Nashville
bakery.
Parting shots
Contact Info:
Hans L’Orange
Director, SHEEO/NCES Network
Director, Data and Information
Management
David Wright
Senior Research Analyst
[email protected]
[email protected]
3035 Center Green Drive, Suite 100
Boulder, CO 80301
www.sheeo.org