IHEP, March 2021

At a time when increased degree completion matters not just to institutions but also to state governments seeking to meet workforce demands and attainment goals, institutions use high-quality data to help them get students across the finish line. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on postsecondary education cannot be understated. Institutions and states are facing the same goals with smaller budgets and the potential for a prolonged recession. Black, Latinx, Indigenous, underrepresented AAPI, and students from low-income backgrounds have borne the brunt of economic shocks in higher education.

As a result, recent research shows they may be more at risk of stop out or drop out in the coming year.
Information derived from high-quality data allows institutions to develop interventions that ensure the equitable success of students, especially during a crisis that has disproportionately impacted the very students who have been historically excluded from higher education. In fact, the work of institutions to identify and close gaps in access and completion is more important than ever. In this brief, we outline
recommendations from campus representatives about how to build a data-informed institutional culture to equitably improve student success. These recommendations also address how institutions can implement data-informed decision-making and foster the collaborative use of data.