Data as a Resource – State Policymakers’ Perspectives

Hans P. L’OrangeDirector, Data and Information Management

State Higher Education Executive OfficersApril 24, 2007

• Background – Who I am, Where I’ve Been

• Policy and Politics – Some Context• Data, Data Everywhere• Current Issues in the States and

Nationally• Helping Policymakers• Questions and Comments

Who I Am• Director of Data and Information

Management

• Director of the SHEEO/NCES Network

• SHEEO – State Higher Education Executive Officers

Where I’ve Been• Veterinary School: Colorado State

University (CSU)

• COBOL Programmer: CSU

• Systems Analyst: CSU, SAFECO, HMSA

• Institutional Research: University of Colorado

• National Data Policy work: SHEEO

Who / What is SHEEO?

– National association of state higher education coordinating and governing boards

– SHEEO’s mission is to assist its members and the states in developing and sustaining excellent systems of higher education

SHEEO’s mission objectives:• Emphasize the importance of planning and

coordination for higher education by promoting effective strategic planning and statewide coordination

• Promote cooperative relationships with federal agencies, colleges and universities, and higher education and other associations in the collection and exchange of data and information, development of standard definitions and practices, conduct of studies, and development of higher education in the public interest

SHEEO’s mission objectives (continued):• Formulate and recommend to public and private

agencies and governments desirable guidelines for state and federal relationships to institutions of higher education

• Encourage studies and other action to advance statewide planning and coordination

• Express to the public, and their representatives in state and national legislatures, the collective opinions of state higher education officers to enhance the work of governing and/or coordinating statewide boards of higher education

Public Policy is:…a course of action or inaction chosen by

public authorities to address a problem.

…expressed in the body of laws, regulations, decisions and actions of government.

Policy analysis may be used to formulate public policy and to evaluate its effectiveness.

"Stated most simply, public policy is the sum of government activities, whether acting directly or through agents, as it has an influence on the life of citizens".

B. Guy Peters

University of Pittsburgh

Education policy:• the collection of laws or rules that govern the

operation of education systems• seeks to answer questions about:

– the purpose of education– the objectives (individual and collective) that it

is designed to attain – the methods for attaining them– the tools for measuring their success or failure

Higher Ed Public Policy Questions• What does the public (individually and

collectively) need from colleges and universities?

• How will the public needs change in 5 to 10 years? 10 to 20 years?

• How will we get there?

• How will we know we are there?

“Never has America required so many of its citizens to know so much. Never have employers sought such a broadly trained — and retrained — workforce. Never has technology transformed so rapidly and so thoroughly how Americans live and work. Never before has education after high school played such a crucial role in enabling an individual to enter the middle class. And never before has a society expected so much from its system of higher education.”

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education

Workforce

K-12

College

Financing

Remediation

Business Interests

Economic Development

Preparation

Drop Outs

2 year and 4 yearAssessment

Accountability

Facilities

Faculty

Data becomes increasingly important as higher education policy environment has become increasingly …….– Competitive

• For higher ed, systems, institutions and faculty

– Distributed• Greater access, expectations and abilities

– Political• Critical to states and regions• Expensive

Functions of data in policy setting• Sets the context, boundaries and conditions for

decision making• Establishes the “facts” before considering

goals, objectives and strategies• Explains “where we are”• Supports tough decisions about future and how

to get there

Data Information Knowledge Policy

• Outside some context, data are just meaningless points in space and time, without reference to 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

April 24, 2007

• Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse• Birth of William I of Orange• United States Library of Congress established• Last Northern troops leave South after Civil War• First satellite relay of a television signal• Winston Churchill is knighted• Bob Dylan’s recording debut - $50 session fee• First IBM PC is introduced• Hubble Space Telescope is launched• Pope Benedict XVI becomes 265th Pope

Informed Stakeholders(Knowledge)

PolicyPreconceptions

Bias

Experience

DogmaBeliefs

Anecdotes

“Story”Facts

Graphs/Tables

Data

Analysis

Information

StakeholderNeeds

Needs Analysis

“Truth”

Data to policy

Relationships

Culture

Good data are:

USEFUL

AVAILABLE

REVEALING

TIMELY

INTUITIVE

RELEVANT

RELIABLE AND VALID JUST ENOUGH

COMPREHENSIVE

Source: Merrill Schwartz, AGB

“I think, therefore I am.”

René Descartes

“We participate and therefore we are.”

John Seely Brown

Data, Data Everywhere• General References

– Measuring Up– Higheredinfo.org (NCHEMS) – NCES products

• IPEDS (Institutional Characteristics)• Tools: COOL, Peer Analysis System (PAS), Executive

Peer Tool, and Dataset Cutting Tool – Census products (CPS, American Community

Survey)– Regional sites (SREB, WICHE, MHEC)– SHEEO Online Access to Resources (SOAR)

Data, Data Everywhere• Students and Learning

– NCES: IPEDS (GRS), sample surveys, NAEP– ACT and College Board– NSSE and CCSSE

• Faculty and Staff– NCES: IPEDS (Employees By Position, Fall Staff,

Salaries)– American Assoc. of University Professors

(AAUP)– College and University Personnel Assoc.

(CUPA)

Data, Data Everywhere• Finance

– NCES: IPEDS, NPSAS– SHEEO State Higher Education Finance (SHEF)– Illinois State “Grapevine” Survey– National Association of State Budget Officers

(NASBO) Fiscal Survey– Tuition Surveys - Washington HECB, College Board– NASSGAP - State Financial Aid

Lots of Data = Lots of Challenges– How do you pick the “right” data?– Are the data valid, timely, relevant, etc?– Where do you find them?– Do you really understand what the data

“mean”?– Do you know when and what to question?– Are elements with the same names really

comparable (e.g., enrollment, faculty)?

Higher Education Policy Data Needs– Enhance student enrollment– Maintain financial viability and

affordability– Operate strategically

• Plan realistically• Allocate resources appropriately• Assess management outcomes

– Renew accreditation– Demonstrate accountability– Support student success

We have noticed a remarkable shortage of clear, accessible information about crucial aspects of American colleges and universities, from financial aid to graduation rates. Because data systems are so limited and inadequate, it is hard for policymakers to obtain reliable information on students’ progress through the educational pipeline. This lack of useful data and accountability hinders policymakers and the public from making informed decisions and prevents higher education from demonstrating its contribution to the public good.The Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education. A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2006.

Current Federal Activity and Alternatives

• 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– IPEDS 7.0– Linking state UR systems

Current Federal Activity and Alternatives

• Expand NCES sample studies• National Student Clearinghouse

Any solution must adequately address issues of…- Burden - Currency / timeliness- Privacy (FERPA) - Security- Relevance - Trust / accountability

Current State-level Initiatives• K-16 Data Linkages• Adequate Funding• Financial Aid and Affordability • Assessment of Student Learning• Articulation and Transfer• Competitiveness• Effectiveness

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Data• Know the Policy

• Know the Audience and their Needs

• Know the Conventions and Definitions

• Write Backwards

• Keep it Simple

• Omit Needless Words

Minimizing Mistakes in Using Data• Data overload• Inappropriate level of detail• Lack of perspective and relevance• Inattention to time (constraints,

currency)• Reliance on anecdote• Lack of context

Pictures are worth a thousand words

Pictures are worth a thousand wordsU.S. Counties by Educational Needs Index Quartile

Source: www.educationalneedsindex.com

38

31

38

40

48

27

44

26

44

36

34

41

45

23

49

41

45

33

25

29

16

22

31

30

27

41

31

25

30

41

27

29

39

26

32

21

26

26

22

16

23

16

14

16

23

31

26

25

17

25

35

41

29

25

21

37

23

35

20

26

27

25

21

42

17

30

23

33

36

39

52

36

36

31

33

20

28

36

33

21

34

29

24

35

27

43

24

27

33

34

35

26

31

30

29

24

30

29

29

23

21

17

22

24

20

24

21

27

23

26

26

21

21

21

20

15

17

20

24

16

16

26

16

22

22

20

22

21

19

19

20

24

17

19

20

14

29

25

22

27

18

35

31

28

22

20

17

19

25

23

6

11

11

11

12

12

12

12

13

13

13

13

14

14

14

14

14

15

15

16

16

17

17

17

18

18

18

18

18

18

18

19

19

20

21

21

22

22

22

22

23

24

24

25

26

26

27

27

28

28

0 20 40 60 80 100

Alaska

Nevada

TexasNew Mexico

Georgia

Oklahoma

Louisiana

ArkansasMississippi

Haw aii

Kentucky

Alabama

TennesseeIdaho

South Carolina

Arizona

Florida

OregonWest Virginia

Washington

Utah

Montana

CaliforniaOhio

Maryland

North Carolina

Michigan

WyomingColorado

New York

Missouri

Illinois

Delaw areVirginia

Indiana

Vermont

Kansas

South DakotaWisconsin

Nebraska

Maine

North Dakota

New JerseyMinnesota

Connecticut

Rhode Island

New Hampshire

PennsylvaniaIow a

Massachusetts

9th to 12th Grade HS Graduate to College College Entrance to Graduation College Graduates

Source: www.higheredinfo.org, from NCES, ACT Institutional Survey, and IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey

Pictures are worth a thousand words

Percent loss at each stage of transition

Pictures are worth a thousand words Adults with at Least a High School Diploma or

Equivalent 

Source: www.higheredinfo.org, from U.S. Census Bureau

Questions?

Hans P. L’Orangehans@sheeo.org

Thank You!