ABSTRACT
The US system of higher education, highly regarded by many, has shown signs of dysfunction in recent years. In fact, America is no longer the most highly educated nation in the world. Colleges and universities have tried to reassess and reconfigure their business models in hopes of better serving students, communities, and economies in response to this growing crisis. Data analytics are at heart of gathering the evidence and insights needed to accomplish the transformational changes demanded by the current climate. In recent years, robust data analytics have been shown to be a key ingredient to strategic innovation. If effectively harnessed, the massive amount of information born out of the analytics revolution can allow institutions to better understand student needs; enhance the quality of teaching, learning, and advising; drive down costs; and predict and avoid risks. Decision makers want access to insight in near-real time, which means that the steps of acquiring, processing, and analyzing data need to happen quickly.
