Higher Education Associations Release Analytics Playbook

Today, the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), EDUCAUSE, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) released the Change With Analytics Playbook, a comprehensive resource designed to support institutions in creating a culture and capacity for strategic data use.

Building on their 2019 Change With Analytics joint statement, the associations created the new playbook to help all higher education institutions make strides in leveraging data for strategic decision-making. The free resource contains 16 “plays” for data leaders to follow in order to make significant progress on their institution’s analytics goals.

The three national associations involved in the project collectively serve nearly 2,500 institutions that educate 22 million postsecondary students.

“We believe that higher education must reenergize its efforts and unleash the power of data and analytics across higher education to support students and fulfill their institutional missions,” the associations wrote in the playbook.

“Higher education is navigating many challenges that could be better addressed by the strategic use of analytics,” said NACUBO President and CEO Kara D. Freeman. “But since using the data itself can be a challenge, our associations created this resource to help colleges and universities take some initial and important steps toward creating cultures and building capacities that will allow them to leverage analytics to the benefit of the institution, its students, and its mission. I am excited by this work and appreciate the continued collaboration with our colleagues at AIR and EDUCAUSE.”

“As institutions of higher education continue to face complex challenges, the strategic use of data has never been more critical. The Change With Analytics Playbook is a transformative tool that will empower data leaders to foster a culture of analytics, drive data-informed decision-making, and ultimately enhance institutional effectiveness,” said Christine Keller, president of AIR. “By providing clear, actionable steps, this resource supports higher education professionals in harnessing the power of data to not only meet their institutional goals but also to better serve their students and communities. We are proud to collaborate with EDUCAUSE and NACUBO on this vital initiative, and we are deeply grateful for the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in making this work possible."

"Many in our community recognize that technology and data can unlock greater potential and inspire transformative change,” said John O’Brien, President & CEO of EDUCAUSE. “The Change With Analytics Playbook emphasizes practical application, offering higher education institutions essential frameworks and tools to bring that data to life. By creating a culture of strategic data use, we can effectively address emerging challenges, enhance our operations, avoid risk, and better support institutional mission, vision, and goals. We could not possibly have better partners than NACUBO and AIR with which to collaborate on this important work.”

The project, generously funded by a $500,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, included input from representatives of seven institutions: Arcadia University, Elgin Community College, Jackson State University, Mercy University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of North Texas. The resources are provided at no cost online.