Posted on March 20, 2017
CCU Advances in Higher Education Analytics
Colorado Christian University's Business Intelligence manager, Kevin McNamara, presented a case study at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit earlier this month. The study examined CCU's use of WhereScape's automation software to create a Microsoft SQL enterprise data warehouse - a breakthrough that has significantly reduced the time required to develop and deploy reports on student retention, financial aid, student success, and enrollment trends.
Hosted in Texas by Gartner - known as the world's leading IT research and advisory company - the summit is an opportunity for those involved with data and analytics to learn about the latest innovations and best practices in the industry, and in this case, advancements for higher education.
"WhereScape's invitation to present on their behalf is a compliment to CCU and a testament to our success using their tool," shared McNamara. WhereScape's latest product, WhereScape RED, is the industry's "first and best integrated development environment for building, deploying, managing, and renovating data warehouses and analytic systems."
McNamara first proposed using WhereScape RED a year and a half ago, due to the University's need to create a centralized enterprise data warehouse. "The centralized warehouse enables staff at all levels of the University to make smart, data-driven decisions," explained McNamara.
Using cutting-edge technology for higher education has led to significant improvements for CCU's Business Intelligence team. As McNamara described, "The automation software allows us to be agile and quickly deliver results. I have heard of other institutions spending over a year to deliver the type of results that we can now provide in less than a month."
What does the future hold for reporting and analytics in higher education? "We are experimenting with advanced analytics including predictive modeling and sentiment analysis using cognitive computing," replied McNamara. "These advances in technology will allow us to better serve our students by increasing student success and retention at a minimal cost."
For more information on CCU's use of WhereScape RED, please view this webinar.