Data in Higher Education Administration: The Time is Now

Why data? Because data is information, information is power, and big data offers immense power—the ability to both better understand the past and to predict future outcomes—based on an amalgamation of aggregated fact. Big data is evidence that can improve procedure, accountability, and planning in ways never before possible. ¹

A survey by Sloan found that 67% of organizations recognize the use of analytics offered at least a moderate competitive advantage for those who take advantage big data’s capabilities. ²

Many, if not most, aspects of an institution are beholden to at least some outside element beyond the control of those with decision-making power. Human capital, however, is one area where a university has the ability to manage procedure and expenditure. Expenditure on workforce over time is an area that is perhaps less analyzed than many others in academia.

Higher Ed People is a database of 47,000 personnel profiles of academic administrators and provides detailed compensation information from 1,700 institutions in order to benchmark current and prospective employees (both active and passive candidates).

According to research only 6% of human resources teams in the US feel highly skilled at data analysis. ³ Organizations in the US spend collectively nearly $124 billion a year on recruitment, and, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, around $6 trillion on payroll. ⁴

Even minuscule adjustments in how academic administrative candidates are sourced can have a profound impact on a university’s financial future. Higher Ed People provides all of the information about prospective employees in one place, saving time for analysis, benchmarking, and forging relationships with skilled candidates.

One current challenge that human resource professionals face, which offers tremendous possibility for savings with the assistance of data, is employee retention. The ability to keep productive and efficient top-talent rather than being continually inundated by the search process offers tangible savings to an institution.

Having the data to know what will retain these employees is valuable. Higher Ed People helps facilitate these efforts with the compensation data for employees at 1,700 institutions, which can be sorted by region or category of institution, whether four-year, very high research institution or two-year associates program. 

Institutions can use information already collected to build a supply of data that can be analysed to integrate and optimize analytics into the core operational function. Information such as:

• Tracking recruitment and candidate pipeline timelines.
• Logging personnel actions associated with workers during tenure, including transfers, promotions, demotions, relocations, resignations, and rehires.
• Tracking of each role and position a person holds; title, salary, and compensation history; and performance history.
• Participation in training that delivers new skills, proficiencies  and certifications, including evaluation.

By keeping track of this information institutions are able to glean new insights and turn those insights into action and also:

• Determine how the data is correlated and whether that data implies causation.
• Identify trends and whether how they might be addressed.
• Verify inferences and discover new directions for inquiry.

Higher Ed People allows an institution to gain a better understanding of the market, accurately assess hiring needs, identify candidates, and maintain institutional control. Data is already reorienting the corporate world and is poised to do the same in academia.

There exists real potential for human resources to take tangible strides to prove and improve ROI for a university. Quantitative metrics provide a way to make an impact on workforce and improve the sourcing of talent to become the critical producer and consumer of data to improve institutional success. Sign up for our 14-day free trial to see for yourself.