Oxford University discovers hidden patterns with BI
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. He said the university has “mapped the trend in 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 enterprise wide.” Naturally reporting on students has become an increasing burden for the 140 university departments and 38 colleges. “Bigger demand, insufficient tools,” he said.
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.”
One Example of Tableau's Power
Oxford, like many UK universities, is throwing up data that can be visualized to affect policy. One quirky example, generated last year in “half an hour,” Cotgreave said, is around sports facilities provision.
Tableau has enabled those in charge of the university’s central sports department to see that non-EU overseas students are more dissatisfied than any other group: 153 were very dissatisfied with college sports; 92 with university sports, according to a 2010 report. Previously, the authorities had a hunch that the colleges’ traditional focus on classic British sports, like rowing, rugby and hockey, was to the detriment others, which would appeal, especially, to overseas students. And since overseas students make up an increasing part of the Oxford student body, that could be unfortunate in a global education market, where Oxford is competing with peers like Harvard, Yale and Stanford.
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