by Angela Guess
A recent article reports, “Oxford University is using data visualization software to gain a better view of its student administration, finance and procurement information. It has also discovered benefits in being able to react rapidly when the university is in the media spotlight and in communicating with potential and current students. Andy Cotgreave, senior data analyst in the university’s student administration team, chose Tableau four years ago and set up the first UK user group.”
Cotgreave said that Oxford has “mapped the trend in BI [business intelligence] as analysts often describe it. We started with a small business-led acquisition of a tool just to get a job done quickly, and we are looking to move enterprisewide.” The article adds, “Reporting on students has become an increasing burden for the 140 university departments and 38 colleges. ‘Bigger demand, insufficient tools,’ he said.”
The article continues, “Four years ago, he installed Tableau and ‘in an afternoon, I could see that it would give the repeatable analysis required.’ The annual programme statistics now take a day to produce; previously, they had taken weeks. This frees his team up to do more analysis, respond to ad hoc requests and sit down with divisions applying for funding to work contemporaneously… Over time, hidden patterns have emerged. Applying the data visualization software to annual programme statistics pulled from the Oracle system, ‘has enabled us to see things where previously we would have relied on intuition. So, now we know that XYZ department has a problem with its D.Phil. thesis submission rates.’”
photo credit: Tim Norvell
