An Educause report found three key data trends that educational institutions need to work on so that higher education institutions can grow to supply their students and staff with a more enriched education.
The first technological trend that needs to be worked on looked at how existing data and infrastructure are outdated and disorganized in most institutions of higher learning.
“Institutions’ on-premises systems such as student information systems (SIS) will lag further and further behind the cloud-based technology advances in other sectors and will be unable to meet the increasingly sophisticated expectations and demands of students, staff, and leaders,” stated the report.
The report also found that many institutions still struggle to implement data governance systems. This is due to governance being looked at as a difficult challenge that requires a cross-unit collaboration of expertise to accomplish this task.
“Lack of attention to any one of these critical components to governance, or an overemphasis on one at the expense of the others, can keep a governance program from getting off the ground, leading to continued mistrust and misuse of the institution’s data resources,” stated the report.
The last technological trend that was highlighted in the report found that data literacy and AI skills lag behind the rapid adoption of big data analytical products in educational institutions.
“Institutions will need to make space for new kinds of leaders and professionals with specialized knowledge and skills, and data literacy training and resources will need to be developed for students and staff. Those institutions with the needed staff and improved end-user literacy will experience more meaningful engagement with and use of their data,” the report stated.
