How to Increase Data Democracy and Develop a Culture of Inquiry within Faculty and Staff<

College Research - Project of the Year

Purpose
The purpose of this project was to establish data democracy and a culture of inquiry withinfaculty and staff at Canada College.

Methodology
In trying to develop a culture of inquiry at our college, we discovered that access to relevant and timely data was a major roadblock for faculty and staff. In the past, requests for data andresearch questions were submitted as part of the annual program review. The research officethen compiled the requests for data and started working through the requests. Thus, a faculty member or department might have a robust discussion around student success in their program in February while writing their program review, but they may not receive back the needed data until that summer. By then, the robust discussion was essentially lost and the questions may have changed. In response to the need for timely data, the research office developed a Data Dashboard tool using the ARGOS reporting system. Cañada College worked with our District Technology group to design the Dashboard system and then Ellucian was contracted to support modifications and maintenance of the system. All 3 schools in the San Mateo County Community District have access to the Data Dashboard, but Cañada College has been utilizing the system more than our sister colleges. Since initial development, the system has been modified and fine-tuned based on feedback from users.