Data for Higher Education Policymaking: Issues of Access, Analysis, and Presentation ASHE Graduate...
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Transcript of Data for Higher Education Policymaking: Issues of Access, Analysis, and Presentation ASHE Graduate...
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
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
Who/What is SHEEO?
Introductions
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.
SHEEO’s mission objectives:
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
Competitive
For higher ed, systems, institutions, and faculty
Distributed
Technological advancements have “freed” data
• Greater access, expectations, and abilities
Political
Data important as the environment has become increasingly…
Background
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
Functions of data within the policy setting
Background
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
Higher ed challenges that require good data
Background
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
Data, information, and knowledge
Background
Informed Stakeholders(Knowledge)
PolicyPreconceptions
Bias
Experience
Dogma
Beliefs
Anecdotes
“Story”Facts
AnecdotesGraphs/Tables
Data
Analysis
Information
StakeholderNeeds
Needs Analysis
Data Requirements
Assertions of TruthData to
policy
Background
Good data
USEFULAVAILABLE
REVEALING
TIMELY
INTUITIVE
RELEVANT
RELIABLE AND VALID
APPROPRIATE COMPARISON GROUP
USED
REPRESENTATIVE JUST ENOUGH
COMPREHENSIVE
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
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
Common mistakes in the use of data for policymaking at the institution board level
Data access
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, data everywhere
Data access
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, data everywhere
Data access
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, data everywhere
Data access
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, data everywhere
Data access
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
Recent initiatives that could affect data availability and quality
Data access
39 states have unit record systems
Data access
Expand NCES sample studies
National Student Clearinghouse
Academy One
Data Quality Campaign (K-12)
Any solution must adequately address issues of…
• Burden
• Privacy (FERPA)
• Relevance
Other alternatives to a federal UR system
• Currency/timeliness
• Security
• Trust(translates as “accountability”)
Data analysis and presentation
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
The two cultures differ in terms of…
Data analysis and presentation
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
To maximize your effectiveness in the policy world…
Data analysis and presentation
Tell stories For illustration; not the same as basing
policy on anecdote
Paint pictures
To maximize your effectiveness in the policy world…
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 wordsU.S. Counties by Educational Needs Index Quartile
Source: www.educationalneedsindex.com
Analysis and presentation
U.S. Counties by Educational Needs Index Quartile
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 worth a thousand words
Percent loss at each stage of transition
Data analysis and presentation
Pictures worth a thousand wordsHighest Attainment Level of HS Dropouts 10 Years Later
Note: Excludes any credentials earned out of state.
Source: Florida Education & Training Placement Information Program
13,742 High School Dropouts from 1990-1991
Attainment Status unchanged 68.2%*
GEDs 20.8%
Adult High School Diplomas 5%
Vocational Certificates 4.4%
AA ~1%
Bachelors ~1%
College Credit Vocational <1%
Masters <1%
• 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.
U.S. Public Higher Education Enrollments and Appropriations per FTE, Fiscal 1980-2004(Constant 2004 dollars adjusted by SHEEO Higher Education Cost Adjustment)
$6,094
$5,721$5,702
$6,874
Pu
bli
c F
TE
En
roll
men
t
$5,000
$5,500
$6,000
$6,500
$7,000
Ed
uca
tio
nal
Ap
pro
pri
atio
ns
per
FT
E
5M
6M
7M
8M
9M
10M
Note: State and local government support, excluding research, agricultural, and medical.Source: SHEEO SHEF
= Recession
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
A few real-world examples: web site demonstrations
Bringing it all together
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
Pareidolia - a type of illusion or misperception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct.
On the nature of biases in the policy world
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:
David WrightSenior Research Analyst
Hans L’Orange Director, SHEEO/NCES NetworkDirector, Data and Information Management
3035 Center Green Drive, Suite 100Boulder, CO 80301
www.sheeo.org