Data in Higher Education

Can student affairs offer a new model for integrative learning in higher education? In this episode, Anne Lundquist, PhD, talks with Adam Peck, PhD, about putting students at the center of their own learning. By pushing them to move from involvement to engagement and leadership, campuses can help students leverage co-curricular skills for post-graduation success. Since 2014 Dr. Peck, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs at Stephen F. Austin State University, has partnered with Campus Labs on Project CEO, a benchmarking initiative that measures the perceived value of co-curricular learning experiences.

Should faculty clarify their intentions around classroom assignments and course outcomes with students? What role should students play in their own learning? And how can course evaluations help or hinder the potential for meaningful feedback and progress? Listen as Shannon LaCount, EdD, and Will Miller, PhD, talk about the values, responsibilities, and motivations that shape the teaching and learning relationship. Previously the Director of Student Learning Assessment at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Shannon was also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Will has taught courses in political science and public policy, most recently at Flagler College, where he was also Executive Director of Institutional Analytics, Effectiveness, and Planning.

In our fourth episode, JD White, PhD, talks with Ken Ryalls, PhD, about shifting the paradigm for teaching and learning. Most current approaches, for instance, emphasize using course evaluations to evaluate a faculty member instead of focusing on professional development to improve instruction methods. Ken advocates a holistic system that neither ignores nor overemphasizes student feedback, and rewards classroom engagement, improved teaching, healthy risk-taking, and a pursuit of innovation. Ken Ryalls is President of IDEA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement of learning in higher education through research, assessment, and professional development.

As pressure for institutions to make data-informed decisions increases, it’s no longer enough just to manage the assessment process—the stakes are too high. It’s time for assessment leaders to approach assessment through a new lens, one focused on progress and not process. Listen as Casey Iannone and JD White, PhD, urge assessment leaders to go beyond managing systems and processes and consider the possibilities of an assessment platform as a powerful pathway for guiding change and action.

A New Outlook on Outcomes by Campus Labs

In our premiere podcast, JD White, Ph.D., V.P., Product Development and a self-proclaimed data geek, talks with Data Scientist Steve Simpson, Ph.D., about higher ed’s “data moment.” A former economics professor and a new addition to the Campus Labs team, Steve explains the role of data science in his academic research as well as its power to help transform administrative efficiencies at colleges and universities.