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Four Takeaways on How Education Research Can Provide Insights to Empower Your Decision-Making
Recent Webinar Highlights Data-Informed Decisions and Custom Research’s New Report Product
Four guest panelists from across the education sector recently joined John Fredericka, Senior Specialist, Research Development Relationships, and Dr. Marie Iwaniuk, Research Specialist, at the National Student Clearinghouse for a discussion on education research and how it can empower decision-making. The panel included:
- Bob Atkins, CEO and Founder, Gray Decision Intelligence
- Ben Barrett, Senior Program Manager, Aspen Institute
- Jason Jabbari, Assistant Professor, Brown School of Social Work and Social Policy, Washington University in St. Louis
- Matthew Linton, Senior Manager for Programs and Publications, Council of Graduate Schools
During the webinar, panelists spoke on how their organizations make data-informed decisions and how they use the education insights provided by the Clearinghouse.
Four takeaways from the webinar
Key takeaways from the discussion include:
- Robust and current data is critical for academic program design and evaluation, understanding the institution’s mission, and balancing student demand and labor market requirements.
- Collecting and analyzing student outcomes data is important for informing decision-making and improving educational practices.
- Accurate and timely data can help institutions provide students with the right resources to help them matriculate and achieve academic success.
- The Clearinghouse, with its Custom Research service, is recognized as a high-quality, current source of education data delivered with flexible and customer-centric service.
Custom Research’s New Product, Data Discovery Reports
Dr. Iwaniuk followed the panel discussion with an introduction to the new product, Data Discovery Reports, from Clearinghouse Custom Research. This series of standardized reports uses various components of data from the Clearinghouse to provide insights into student populations and trends covering a variety of fields.
“I think it shows that in an ever-evolving landscape, and with data being so important …the Clearinghouse is forward-thinking and innovative,” said Fredericka, the webinar moderator. “We’re trying to offer new services that are more price friendly and data-enriched with quicker turnaround times.”
Dr. Zhewei Gregory, Managing Director, Research Development & Philanthropy, talked more about the Data Discovery Reports in an additional Q&A:
In the webinar, Dr. Iwaniuk said that the goal of the Custom Research team is to make Clearinghouse data and its insights accessible to the entire education community. How do the new Data Discovery Reports contribute to that goal?
The Custom Research team is currently leading the development of several innovative service models to provide more affordable and accessible solutions to our customers. Our initiatives begin with the Data Discovery Report series and library. Future potential custom research products include a subscription-based data insights platform, an open access data set model (which allows paid access to anonymized data sets), and a data sharing cleanroom designed for secure data sharing with partners and expansion of our data sets.
Who can use a Data Discovery Report, and what can requestors expect to receive?
Data Discovery Reports can be used by various organizations, like educational institutions, policymakers, governmental agencies, research entities, philanthropic foundations, employers, and workforce industry leaders. Requestors can expect to receive a comprehensive report focusing on various educational insights, like enrollment, completions, progression in specific fields of study, transfers, institutional core metrics outcomes, stop-outs, and more.
What does the first Data Discovery Report cover?
The first Data Discovery Report covers the Field of Study Pipeline, including postsecondary enrollments and credential completions for specific fields of study from fall 2015 to spring 2024. This report is disaggregated by student demographic and geographic data elements.
Upcoming reports in production include a Field of Study Major Contributors, Community College Transfer and Success report, a Student Origins report, and an Institution Transfer Traffic Patterns report, among others. The objective is to establish a readily available catalog of reports for purchase on online platforms, accessible to all data users and researchers.
How do you order a Data Discovery Report?
Currently, customers should fill out the contact form on the Custom Research page to express interest in ordering a Data Discovery Report. We will then reach out to complete the process. Meanwhile, we are diligently working to establish our storefront on various data marketplace platforms.
Watch the on-demand webinar
Register to watch our on-demand webinar, “Inform Your Decisions with Powerful Student Data Trends,” and see the Data Discovery Report preview.
“I think it shows that in an ever-evolving landscape, and with data being so important …the Clearinghouse is forward-thinking and innovative. We’re trying to offer new services that are more price friendly and data-enriched with quicker turnaround times.”
John Fredericka
Senior Specialist, Research Development Relationships
Additional Resources:
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