At the end of last year, we attended a regional Institutional Research (IR) conference and sat in on a discussion group regarding data governance (data intelligence) challenges. We loved the great discussion and thought we would highlight some of the points that came from this discussion.
Let’s keep the discussion going. We love doing webinars on data governance and listening to our customers on what they are doing regarding data governance.
Points Made:
- Data governance initiatives require engagement on many levels. Need cooperation among all parties and need to work within the culture to change the culture. IR must work with IT, registrar, admissions, financial aid and other areas regarding data governance. You need buy-in from leadership to get the resources you need to make it happen.
- Documenting and building a dictionary is crucial. A knowledgebase is a must. Data sharing leads to sharing definitions.
- Error review – position yourself as partner rather than policeman. Remove idea of ownership – stewardship is a clearer route. Think partnership and stewardship instead of policeman and owner. Data governance is a set of decision-rules and processes, it’s not about the data itself.
- Quick results will build confidence in people and process which builds trust in the data.
Implementing effective data governance is not easy. But we are excited with all the discussions going on about data governance at various associations in higher education. And we enjoy being a part of the discussion and providing information, services and products that aid institutions in data governance. If interested in our data governance services, the Data Cookbook, the leading data governance solution for higher education institutions feel free to 
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(Image Credit StockSnap_QEUNLIV3ZG_DGDiscussion_BP #1049)
