Purposeful Evolution of Data Visualization: Continuous Improvement of Data Sharing

Dr. Resche HinesAngela Henderson

Patti Sanders

First private university in the state of Florida

One of the fastest growing universities in the nation

Current freshman class almost double the size

of the Class of 2015 graduating class

Ranked #5 Best in South by U.S. News & World Report

Ranked #6 Best Undergraduate Teaching and

#7 Best Regional Value

Successful launch of $150 million campaign for Stetson,

Beyond Success – Significance

Stetson University

Historic Campus, DeLand, Florida Center at Celebration, Florida

Law Center, Tampa, Florida College of Law Campus, Gulfport, Florida

Locations

4 locations

throughout the

state of Florida

Overview

• To be effective in disseminating data, IR offices must embrace methods that fit expectations of today’s technologically savvy consumers. This means providing easy to use, interactive reports, and most importantly, providing new reports frequently.

• This session will focus on:

• developing an intentional plan for creating and sharing data visualizations,

• avoiding data saturation, and

• encouraging data use.

Disclaimer

• This session is the result of a lack of purposeful planning

• Want to share our lessons learned to make process easier for others

Why Visualization?

• Stale static reports with excessive amounts of detailed data

• Data visualization ensures reports are:• visually appealing, engaging,

• current, and

• accessible to consumers

Why Purposeful Visualization?

• While it is tempting to open the floodgates and provide access to large amounts of data at once, this approach overwhelms users.

• A planned and controlled release of reports ensures data is fresh and does not oversaturate stakeholders.

Evolution of Enrollment Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Enrollment Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Enrollment Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Enrollment Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Enrollment Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Retention Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Retention Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Retention Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Retention Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Retention Reports, 2010 to 2016

Evolution of Retention Reports, 2010 to 2016

Examples of Other Power BI reportsReports

• Credit Hours by Department

• Cohort Major Tracking Report

• Retention Risk Report

• Peer Institution Metrics

• Non-retained StudentTracker Report

• Subsequent Enrollment of Graduates Report

• Completions and Department of Labor Report

Campus Response• Largely favorable

• Some resistance

Lessons Learned: Intentionality in Hindsight

Preparing the Data

• Take time to conceptualize your data, especially if working with flat files in Excel

• Being intentional about variables included will save time

• Consider: • Creating a base file for multiple reports (i.e., adding a retention indicator to a

student level enrollment file)

• Including common unique field (ID) to ensure ability to merge files

Design

Naming Fields and Visuals

• Keep in mind what is clear and intuitive to you may not be to others

• Avoid abbreviations if possible

• Consider the audience’s level of knowledge on the topic and label variables and visuals accordingly

Design

Providing Context

• Every report should include an opening page of user notes containing:• Summary of report content

• Definitions of terms used

• Data sources

• Date of last update

• Report navigation

Design

Branding Reports• Brand reports with institutional logo and colors

Design

Avoiding Cluttered Reports

• Rule of 4:• No more than 4

slicers per page

• No more than 4 visuals per page

• Maintain ample white space

Design

Maintaining Consistency• Use same layouts, functionalities, and formatting throughout reports

Design

Determining Users

• Who needs access to the reports?

• Key players who benefit from concise visualizations of data

• Cabinet

• Deans

• Department Chairs

Dissemination

Avoiding Data Saturation

• How many reports do users need?

• 5-10 on key topics for decision-making• Program enrollment • Course success • Retention • Graduation• Graduate outcomes

• Focusing reports on high-interest topics encourages use

Dissemination

Requested Modifications

• Broad buy-in means use by audiences with different needs and agendas

• As buy-in increases, user requests for modifications and additional reports increase

• Consider up front what justifies implementing modifications (1 request? 2 requests? Purpose of request?)

Dissemination

Developing New Reports

• What justifies creation of a new report?

• Must balance requests against clarity of information (example – grade distribution report; visual uses grade groups, table shows grade break out)

• Consider who is requesting? Purpose of request? Is it IR’s role to judge requests or to provide all information? How to balance against time?

Dissemination

Developing New Reports

• Consider how creation of new reports within a PBI document impact the overall document…too many tabs become problematic for users.

• Determine a break out cutoff (i.e., if a PBI doc has more than 4 tabs, break the additional tabs into a separate specialized report)

Dissemination

Releasing New Reports

• Release new reports no more than every two months• More frequently than this overwhelms users

• Consider institutional calendar and plan report releases to coincide • Registration report in summer, to monitor

new fall enrollments

• Retention report in fall term, as soon as rate is known

Dissemination

Continuous Improvement

• Reports created 6 months ago should be revisited and updated with new features as needed

• Ensures reports are up to date

Revision

Report Tracking/Planning Guide

Questions & comments

Dr. Resche Hines

rhines@stetson.edu

Angela Henderson

ahender1@stetson.edu

Patti Sanders

psanders@stetson.edu

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