How are you using data to help students?

[becky_anderson]

I just saw this excellent presentation on how schools like Georgia State and Morgan State are using the data available to them about their students to help those students succeed. GSU looked at all their student data about registration and grades and withdrawals for the past 10 years to make some interesting discoveries. For instance, "Among declared political science majors who get an A or B in their first political science class, 75 percent go on to graduate. If you get a C, your chances plummet to 25 percent."  And what do they do with this information? At GSU, that piece of data, when applied to a student, causes an actual human conversation to happen between that student and an advisor to find out what's tripping them up or where they need more help in order for them to succeed. It was a great way to hear about technology and data being used to help improve student's chances at success. You can read more about GSU here, or some smaller case studies here, or check out this report on how to use this data ethically, and not get caught using it negatively. So how is your school using data?