Strategic Initiatives to Enhance the Use of Data at the University of Edinburgh

Lisa Dawson – Head of Student Systems Operations Tom Ward – Director of Academic Services

Overview Focus on a new Student Data Dashboard and a new External Examiner Reporting System We will provide an overview of: What we have delivered and how we managed change The impact on the student experience, and lessons learned Focus on nature and impact of changes not technical features Other major institutional data developments include learning analytics and University-wide roll-out of Evasys course surveys

Key objectives of the projects Make management data on the student experience more accessible and easier for Schools to interpret (less time extracting data = more time using it to enhance student experience) Allow for institutional- and College- level analysis of data - identify strategic themes and good practices Efficiency / operational effectiveness – but this secondary

Broader strategic University context University Learning and Teaching Strategy – “Developing robust sources of evidence on the quality of teaching” Broader work to simplify and enhance learning and teaching business processes (the ‘Service Excellence Programme’) Major review of University quality framework - streamlining of processes while gaining maximum value (better access to data has a key role to play in this. Benefits if the University entered TEF in the future?

External Examiners (600+) Edinburgh – large, devolved + diverse University Colleges (3) Schools (22) Subjects (50+) External Examiners (600+) Programmes (700+) Courses (5000+)

What have we delivered? –dashboard Launched autumn 2016 Previously, key data available via various Business Objectives reports, static PDF documents, locally held data Dashboard contains data on: UG admissions (applications / offers / acceptances) Programme outcomes by qualification / classification Course outcomes NSS results Course Student Questionnaire results

What have we delivered? –dashboard Allows easy analysis: Filter by gender, nationality, WP status, fee status, ethnicity Analyse data at all levels: University / College / School / subject area / programme / course Trend analysis Easy comparison between two sections Identify outliers Main target users are Heads of Schools and School Directors of Quality, but also valuable for Course / Programme Managers

What have we delivered? - EERS Fully implemented during 2015-16 following pilots Online system for reporting by External Examiners (and submission of responses by Schools) Replaced local (manual) paper-based systems Reports now held in accessible form on central system Allows for direct reporting of common themes from the reports (filtered by issue, School / College etc)

How did we approach these projects? Broad stakeholder engagement Engagement with senior management, focus groups, user groups, presentations to key committees etc) Understand business needs Highlight the potential benefits and get buy-in Agree standard data definitions and business processes Benchmarking with other institutions’ practices (Oxford Brookes and Warwick)

How did we approach these projects? Piloting and prototyping   Extensive support and engagement during and after implementation Training and guidance where necessary (though systems quite intuitive) Promoting the new systems and demonstrating the benefits Continued with these activities well after systems went live

Impact to date? – the dashboard Much easier to access and interpret key management data – all in one place and easy to use (previously multiple locations / requiring specialist knowledge / limits on ability to manipulate) Embedded in the University’s new annual quality review processes – provides most of the core data required Also seeing colleagues across the University adopting the Dashboard as the core data source for other activities eg for curriculum design and development, and recruit’t & marketing

Impact to date? – the dashboard Generally very positive feedback from users – particularly regarding the usability and visualisation “…we're all really impressed at how user friendly it is and the detail of the information.” “Utility/customizability good” So positive we now planning PGT equivalent for summer 2017 Too early to evaluate whether (as hoped) it has transformed colleagues into more engaged and active users of data to enhance the student experience

Impact to date? EERS Facilitating faster and more consistent reflection at School, College and University levels on matters arising from External Examiner reports. Easier to undertake University-level thematic analysis and identify areas for further development and good practice. Real operational benefits, eg identifying outstanding reports.

Impact to date? EERS 2015 Enhancement-Led Institutional Review – “a positive practice that will enhance the University’s analysis of its external examiner reports” Generally positive feedback from staff users in Schools and Colleges – majority feel new system makes it easier to undertake effective qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data to inform L&T developments

Lessons Stakeholder engagement crucial – don’t make assumptions about what users want, or assume that they will use new systems without showing them the benefits  Visualisation and design is crucial to stakeholder buy-in   Staff expertise, resources and senior management support  It can take time for staff to get used to the potential of the data, and to shift attitudes among staff that ‘don’t do data’

Thank you ! Any questions?