Within six months of beginning the pilots, the university had its answer. The pilots followed students who enrolled in specific courses. With the model complete and the student body on board, the university launched a series of 12-month pilots. Pilots Validate Project Value Within Months The other line is the individual student’s engagement compared to that average engagement in the course.” One of those lines is the average engagements of the cohort on a course-by-course basis. It is a very simple visualization, Day explains. DTP Solutionpath also built a dashboard that lets students visualize their engagement. Then, working closely with the university’s IT team, the vendor used IDOL analytics to create what Day calls “a model of engagement”: data combinations that indicate levels of student engagement – or disengagement. To build the solution, NTU provided DTP Solutionpath with five years’ worth of back data. So instead, NTU engaged with Micro Focus partner DTP Solutionpath to implement an IDOL business analytics application. The university discovered that it was virtually impossible to integrate its disparate datasets using traditional business intelligence tools. While some of the university’s 600TB of student data is structured, much of it is not. “We wanted to see whether those things would give us some indication as to how well students were engaged in their studies and therefore whether they’re struggling or not,” says Day. Students swipe their smart cards to enter buildings, use printers, use libraries, and access learning management systems. The university started by considering the data footprint students leave as they move about the university campuses and use its facilities and services. Structured and Unstructured Data Requires Innovative Approach If it could identify those students quickly enough, it could intervene by proactively reaching out to them to offer guidance and support. NTU’s challenge was to identify which students were either struggling or – better yet – at risk of encountering academic challenges. “When they struggle, they believe it’s their fault, and so they typically don’t ask for help.” “We’ve come to call them ‘doubter students’”, says Day. They may not take advantage of its academic and counseling support systems. As a result, these students may lack confidence in their ability to navigate the university system. Often, they represent the first generation in their families to attend university. Students in this category typically come from lower socioeconomic areas. It expects to add around 2,000 students over the next few years.Įqually significant, the percentage of students the university classifies as “widening participation” students will likely rise. At about 7 percent, Day says, the university dropout rate is “better than sector average.”īut NTU knows better than to assume that its current success will continue – particularly as its student body demographic evolves. NTU has always had a low drop-out rate, notes Mike Day, the university’s Director of Information Systems. Expanding Enrollment Includes More At-Risk Students Improve the ability to reduce student dropout rates.
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