Moving away from a sorting and selecting model of higher education, where "best and brightest" go to ivy league. Six-year higher-ed graduation norm.
Demographically, the biggest projected shift in the US is toward Latino and other groups that are less likely to make it through high school. Strategically, this puts the US at a disadvantage because if current trends in higher-ed graduation rates continue, we will have a large percentage of our population in which the younger generation will be less well-educated than the older generations, and could cause economic problems. A great opportunity to do better.
Data are needed to facilitate discussion around success, the flow of students through our educational process, retention, etc. Integration and/or alignment of separate systems make the entire enterprise more successful and productive. Business as usual will no longer work.
Nebraska currently has no functional process to match student records between K-12 and postsecondary (22 states currently do - only 11 have systems that are actually linked), which puts us at a serious disadvantage for collecting longitudinal data and better understanding issues like student performance, retention, etc.
Needs include unique identifiers for students, e-transcripts, data feedback reports. Also, coordination and support from a P-16/20 council, statewide groups to consider issues and implement intelligently, and collaboration. Louisiana and Kentucky are current examples of success stories. Data about students flowing back from higher-ed to high school to suggest changes based on actual performance. Some of their challenges include so much data that they're having a hard time knowing what to do with it. Trying to collaborate with university researchers to try to make better sense of the data and what to do with it. California is using county-based consortium groups of K-12, community college, and universities to help educators understand performance and transitions. They're able to align together and make joint recommendations from the educator-level based on real, current student data. Take a look at "State Student Unit Record Systems."
Characteristics of an ideal state postsecondary data system include full longitudinal data... from pre-K all the way to workforce data. Unique (private) ID. Doesn't have to be SSN, but that makes it easier to capture workforce data information. Common enrollment, completion, and demographic data. Financial aid data - states should collect family financial data for those students who don't get financial aid. With the data we currently have, it would be difficult to make any hard argument for expanding state financial aid. Transfer data to track students as they move around within the state (let alone inter-state). Persistence and graduation data. At the course level, access to remediation data is important. Privacy protection, a link to K-12, and linkage to workforce development. Includes independent and for-profit institutions to be truly comprehensive. Single system for all public institutions. Data audits for quality, validity and reliability. Finally, alignment with state goals, and demonstrating usability and sustainability.
Not a technology problem, it's a people and a culture problem... really about being proactive instead of reactive, or having something forced on us.
Only a handful, maybe 10 or 11 states have been able to involve independents and for-profits. Usually in those cases there has been some kind of a hook like a statewide coordination of educational standards or of financial aid already in place.
First step for Nebraska, this time, is to decide what the first steps are... chosen for either strong benefits to the collective body, or for easy attainability. Perhaps biggest Nebraska challenge right now is college participation and lack of continuing education or degree completion for individuals who nearly finished degree. Looking at data on students who stopped an associates degree a few hours short of completion, and sending data about those students to local colleges made a huge difference in Houston. A similar effort was very successful for Central Community College in Nebraska when they just looked at their own data. Graduation rates went through the roof.
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