Frontiers in Education 1999

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Frontiers in Education 1999 Data Warehousing A
Tool for Facilitating Assessment Polytechnic
University, New York Gateway Coalition
Dr. Joanne InghamDirector of Institutional
Assessment Retention Office of Academic
Affairs jingham_at_poly.edu
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Building A Data Warehouse
Legacy System (Mainframe or other types of edit
oriented system)
Relational Database Management Systems (department
al data)
External Data statistics, state and federal
reports
Data Mining, Collection, Processing and
Integration
On-Line Processing
Analyzed Data, Reports
Requests
Data Warehouse
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• Warehouse Flexibility and Responsiveness
• Benefits
• Easy access to data fast response rate
• Manageable - work only with data you need
• Processing does not disturb main system
• OLAP - Online Analytical Processing
• Drawbacks
• Constant electronic update
• Must design and maintain new system

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Step 1
Recognition and Support For Centralized
Assessment Process and Longitudinal Tracking
August 1997

• Hired personnel Director and Project Leader
• Purchased equipment and software workstation,
  scanner, visual tools, NT, RDBMS, VB, C
• Data collected ten years of institutional data
• Piloted new techniques web, client/server,
  scanning

September 1998

• Purchased server and a workstation
• Expanded assessment process based on pilot
  results

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Step 2
Data Collection - Identify Available Data

• University Legacy System - Mainframe

• Reports
• State Reports (HEGIS),
• Freshman Survey (CIRP)
• Departmental Year-End Reports

• Other Database Systems
• Special Services Office - custom
• HEOP - excel
• Career Services - custom
• Alumni Office - outside provider

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Data Collection Issues Need for a University
Catalog Statement on Assessment
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Data Collection Issues

• Departmental confidentiality concerns - release
  letter prepared by the Dean
• Meet with Directors to determine
• which data exist
• format of the data
• relative purity of that data

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Data Incorporated into Warehouse

• Official census data files (for each academic
  session)
• 21 day count
• Registrar files
• registration
• end of semester grades
• Freshman cohort files
• Official graduation files
• Alumni files

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Step 3

• Data Integration - A Critical Step
• Migrating data from existing Legacy System
• Extracting and transferring data from other
  systems - UNIX, Windows, DOS based databases
  and spreadsheets
• Checking for data quality
• Eliminating duplicates and dead data
• Checking for data consistency by cross
  referencing data from different sources

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Aug97 Nov97 Feb98 May98 Aug98
Office Established and Director and Project
Leader Hired
Equipment and the Software Purchased (NT
Workstation, VB, Interdev, Access, SQL)
Initial data Collection and Data Transfer (Data
Warehouse is established)
Data Collection and Maintenance (Ongoing Process)
Data Integration
Program Piloting and Testing
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Step 4

• Development of a Web-Based Assessment Process
• Benefits
• Easy to distribute - access 24 hours
• Easy to analyze data
• Saves time, human and office resources
• Easier to work with electronic data - on a
  routine basis
• Computer can check for integrity of data -
  validate
• Drawbacks
• Response rate sometimes lower
• Involves more preparation time upfront
• Possible technical difficulties if system is
  down

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• Develop and Pilot Test Instruments and Methods
• Faculty Survey- Paper based, overall 60
  response rate, 85 rate from target faculty,
  data entered manually.
• Freshman Design Course - Web-based survey, 60
  response rate, data collected and analyzed
  automatically.
• Alumni Survey - Web-based and paper (later to be
  scanned). Using both approaches for better
  response rate with alumni population.
• Course-Level Assessment - Web-based pilot,
  spring 1999. Full implementation, fall 1999.
• Ease of administration, data collection and
  analysis.
• Ease of student access to evaluation forms.

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• Warehouse as a Faculty Department Resource
• Access to timely and thorough statistical data
  graduation persistence rates, grades,
  registration.
• Support assessment activities for accreditation
• Alumni Surveys
• Course-Level Assessment
• Assessment Activities for Grants
• Longitudinal Tracking of Students
• Performance Linked to ABET competencies
• Retention and Persistence
• Changing Majors within University
• Transfers
• Math Performance as a Retention Issue