Business intelligence or BI is basically the concept of converting raw data into something that employers and employees will need to make important decisions for the company. If the data is wrong, then it might cost the company a lot of profits. But if the data provided is correct, then it might bring the company to greater heights.
When it comes to educational institutions, the stakes are also just as high. There is a certain amount of profit to be considered because running a school does cost some money. However, there is more to that. Business intelligence tools can also help in academic-related decisions. And we do not mean in the Human Resources or Finance departments only. We mean using it to help instructors to create their course for incoming students so they can help make the student’s employment success higher.
But let us discuss the type of BI tools that you can use. There are so many out there that you can use. You have Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and even SAS Institute to provide you with the tools that you will require. The whole idea is to choose the tools that will allow you to get, analyze and report the right data as you need them. You have spreadsheets, search software, data mining and visual analytics. In most cases, these tools can work well on their own. However, it is possible for you to combine them with each other – as the data needs it.
What you want to remember is you need tools that will allow you to take school-related information, identify what you will need for a particular school year and keep the rest for future reference. In an academic setting, there is no such thing as an obsolete information. You will need that in the future.
So how can business intelligence tools help instructors create their courses?
Here’s the thing. School data includes tracking the progress of graduates. This is how they help sell the school to talented students. While this data is primarily used to gauge the success of students for marketing purposes, this can also be used by instructors to determine how to improve this success rate. For instance, if students from a particular degree has a low completion rate or a high employment rate, this can be improved by changing course details. Instructors can plan to infuse more practical lessons to enable graduates to get a job in the corporate world. Or they can look at the enrollment demographics and compare it with the graduate demographics to determine if there are other factors apart from the course that can help students stay and complete their education.
Comparing these data and recording how every change affects the output from the school will help the whole institution improve their reputation for the better. That will translate to better turn out in enrollment and student participation in activities.
By using business intelligence tools and incorporating them in school data, you get to use technology to actually improve the learning experience of students as they pursue a higher education. The same idea can be held true for all levels of learning.
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