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Opinion
Institutional Intelligence
Applying business intelligence principles to higher education
4/11/2007
Higher education, generally among the leaders in technology adoption, is late to embrace data warehousing and business intelligence (BI). Fewer than 100 universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States have recognized data warehousing programs. This represents an adoption rate of less than 3 percent for a discipline well into its second decade of mainstream practice.Does BI not work for higher education? Or does it simply not apply? The answer to each of these questions must be a resounding "No!" The principles of BI do apply, and the capabilities of BI are critical to institutional success. The importance and the value of data warehousing and BI are recognized by leading institutions such as the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Texas at Austin, and California State University.
The Need for Institutional Intelligence
The need for data integration, institutional metrics, and higher education analytics is apparent and unarguable. Debra Friedman, dean of the College of Public Programs at Arizona State University, describes the need for institutional intelligence as "the capacity of an institution to carry out analyses on questions of strategic import under continuously changing conditions." BI principles apply throughout the strategy, planning, management, and operation of a college or university. Every institution must address all of the typical business management disciplines: financial management, operations management, human resources, and the like. But institutions of higher education are more complex than most businesses. While encompassing all of the traditional aspects of business, they must also measure and manage uniquely academic issues and processes such as admissions, financial aid, academic advising. Many colleges and universities oversee resources and activities similar to those of a municipal government, with campus police, fire and safety, traffic management, parking services, etc. Add to this the similarities with the hospitality industry--residence halls, dining services, meeting facilities, etc.--and the complexity is magnified.
Also consider the dimension of regulatory compliance. Environmental, privacy and security, workforce regulations, accessibility, diversity, collective bargaining agreements, grants and contracts, and more make up the landscape of institutional compliance considerations. Although the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) does not apply to higher education and other public or not-for-profit entities, the
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