Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary sets forth a vision for NC State through seven strategic goals to achieve the university’s land-grant mission. The plan’s fifth goal revolves around improving university effectiveness through transformative technologies, cutting-edge processes and actionable data. That’s one part of the plan where the new University Data and Analytics (UDA) unit will play a critical role.
The unit was established in May 2024 by Provost Arden, Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Charles Maimone, and Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO Marc Hoit. Senior Vice Provost for Institutional Strategy and Analysis Margery Overton oversaw initiatives in Wolfpack 2030’s first implementation plan that led to the formalized unit.
“With the size and needs of NC State constantly growing, we wanted to thoughtfully and deliberately organize how university data and analytics assets and resources are developed, managed and utilized,” said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Warwick Arden. “Therefore, we decided to establish University Data and Analytics within Institutional Strategy and Analysis to further recognize data and analytics as a university business function critical to university planning, management, decision-making and accountability.”
The unit’s staff and resources will seek to improve and expand data governance, institutional analytics and analytics enablement. Each of these areas maintains a distinct organization, but all three will be overseen by an Executive Steering Group. UDA is being led by Assistant Vice Provost for Institutional Analytics and Data Governance McKinney Austin, working alongside Overton to build Institutional Strategy and Analysis’ capacity for the new unit and its responsibilities.
“The management of university data resources to maximize value and utility will contribute to the success of our strategic planning efforts,” said Overton. “As a unit, UDA will ensure an effective and efficient analytics infrastructure, and produce high quality analytics content to improve decisions, business processes and outcomes.”
For additional information on the new University Data and Analytics unit’s role and the Institutional Analytics, Analytics Enablement, and Data Governance operation models, please visit https://go.ncsu.edu/university-data-and-analytics-organization.
Data Governance
The organization of authority and control over data assets and the promotion and enhancement of accuracy, consistency, understandability, accessibility and appropriate usage. It includes the activities of establishing and managing: data regulations, rules, procedures, and standards; authorization and access; data catalog; data quality; and data literacy.
Institutional Analytics
The development and delivery of reports, dashboards, models and other analytical content suitable for university business and administrative use. The purpose of Institutional Analytics is to inform and improve university planning, management, decision making and accountability. It includes descriptive (what happened?), diagnostic (why did it happen?), predictive (what will happen?), and prescriptive (how can it be made to happen?) analytics.
Analytics Enablement
Infrastructure, tools, platforms and data resources that enable Institutional Analytics activities. It includes the design, development and maintenance of data resources that are curated for analytics uses, such as an enterprise data warehouse. Analytics Enablement also includes technical operations and support of Institutional Analytics platforms, such as the SAS Visual Analytics platform, where Institutional Analytics content has been developed and delivered to users.
UDA will work in collaboration with campus partners such as Office of Finance and Administration, and with the Office of Information Technology leading the areas of cybersecurity and IT infrastructure, puts the university in the best position to elevate and modernize its data and analytics resources and capabilities and to improve the overall effectiveness and value of data and analytics at NC State.
“We wanted to create a more coordinated and mature environment for analytics activities and resources,” said Austin. “We’re looking forward to helping faculty and staff from around the university having greater access to and clarity in data-informed decision making.”
Through UDA, NC State faculty, staff and administrators will see greater quality, accessibility and understandability of data, and a solid framework to address issues including data quality and data decision rights. Communities of practice and advisory groups for data governance, institutional analytics and analytics enablement will be established, and will be where techniques and best practices are shared, as well as where collaboration and coordination of analytics activities and initiatives take place.
Within University Data Analytics, its overall governance and the subgroups within the unit, the university is well on its way to achieving strategic goals and solidifying the success of Wolfpack 2030.
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