AIRE Newsletter: February 2024
Inside this Edition
Welcome from the VP of AIRE I AIRE Open Labs I Student Surveys of Teaching Unit Leader Report I National Survey of Student Engagement I New alumni data and GPA trends in KU Fact Book I Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES) I Spring opening day and 20th day census data I AIRE Community Scan 2023 Recommendations I Jayhawks Rising strategies 2024 I Jayhawks Rising Awareness Survey I Academic Analytics faculty roster verification I Strategic alignment presentations FY 2024 completed I Quick links to AIRE functions I
Dear Colleague,
The new year brought a new AIRE vision statement:
"To champion a collaborative culture, supported by an agile and holistic data ecosystem, that uses data and analysis to support strategic planning, decision-making, and continuous improvement."
Crafted during our fall review of functions and planning for FY 2024, this vision was the cornerstone of our strategic alignment presentation to all deans and VPs in December 2023. We hope you see it realized as we partner with you on projects that best support the changing needs of the institution in 2024.
Responding to feedback from our strategic alignment presentation, we’ve made the following updates to our website to better communicate our services with campus partners:
- AIRE strategies 2024 webpage
I've also included quick links to AIRE's core services at the bottom of this email ⇓
As ever, please reach out to me (corinne-bannon@ku.edu) or to AIRE-help@ku.edu with feedback or questions.
Best wishes,
Corinne Bannon | Vice Provost of AIRE and Chief Data Officer
Questions about data dashboards? Attend an AIRE Open Lab
Hosted by our Data Analytics Team, these labs offer support for enterprise-wide reports in OAC and Visual Analytics, including OAC report-building functionality. We encourage you to fill out a brief survey before to attending.
Next Open Lab
March 5, 9-10:30am – Capitol Federal Hall, Room 1057
Reminder: Student Surveys of Teaching Unit Leader Static Report
KU's Student Surveys of Teaching Unit Leader Static Report was launched in January 2024, replacing the Unit Leader Qualtrics dashboard. This report is available for chairs of academic departments, directors of areas in the School of Business, associate deans with academic program responsibilities, and deans.
If you haven’t already, please take 2 minutes to complete theaccess request form linked below as soon as possible. It will update the SST team with current unit leader details and confirm understanding/approval of usage agreements. If you're no longer a leader with these responsibilities, follow the link to select 'remove' so we can update our records.
Static reports will only be sent to unit leaders who complete the form below and accept the usage agreement. If your team or admin needs to see the report, you must forward the PDF you will receive as we are sending these exclusively to unit leaders. The delivery of the static report will come from our SST@KU.edu email account.
National Survey of Student Engagement opens Feb 22
You'll start seeing more communications about the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) over the next few weeks. AIRE has reached out to communicators in your units with details on how to help get the word out.
This national survey is distributed to first-year students and seniors. One of our four Campus Constituent Surveys, the NSSE results provide KU with vital information about student experiences, both in and out of the classroom, informing changes to policy and practice that support the success of all students at KU. It is administered every three years.
New alumni data and GPA trends added to the KU Fact Book
- Results of the First Destination Survey, which collects information on the initial career outcomes for bachelor degree recipients six months after graduation, are now displayed in a new section of the KU Fact Book. The dashboard has been updated to align with the Alumni Outcomes dashboard, which shows bachelor's and graduate alumni outcomes data produced through a partnership with Lightcast.
- The GPA Trends dashboard shows average term GPAs by school, career, and sex. The dashboard now has a new tab showing average cumulative GPAs for bachelor degree recipients by school and for the university overall.
The KU Fact Book is maintained by AIRE’s Official Reporting Team. For questions about items in the Fact Book, email AIRE-help@ku.edu.
Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES): March 5 - April 2
This spring, KU will survey graduate students via the Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES). One of our four Campus Constituent Surveys , the GSES is the main instrument for gaining insight into the graduate experience at KU on a regular cadence. The results shape policies and practices that support the success of all graduate students at KU. AIRE administers this survey for KU and supports the data analysis and post-survey engagement efforts.
Graduate students will receive emails from Graduate Studies containing survey links from March 5 to April 2. AIRE will contact communicators in your units to help promote the survey. A website with more information will be available soon.
Spring opening day and 20th day census data
- Spring opening day student census ran the night before the first day of classes, Tuesday, Jan. 16.
- Spring 20th day student census ran at the end of the day on Monday, Feb. 12.
Our Official Reporting Team has updated the relevant dashboards in the KU Fact Book and you'll see these census data updated in OAC dashboards..
Data dictionary the top recommendation from AIRE's Community Scan 2023
In November and December of 2023, AIRE conducted a community scan, asking analytical staff and leadership about how they use AIRE’s services, how they use data in their work, and needs for future support. The top need for support among analytical staff is a data dictionary.
After analyzing all the results, AIRE is now taking steps to respond. We're working to improve services and programming, with a special emphasis on launching more comprehensive data documentation.
Results from campus leaders suggest confidence in institutional data and reporting to assist decision making.
Results of both the leader and analyst community scans are being used to construct the agenda for a forthcoming meeting of the Executive Data Council.
Jayhawks Rising strategies for 2024 available online
- The new FY24 Jayhawks Rising strategies (SSO required) were identified by the Objective Leaders at the Provost's leadership retreat (August 15-16).
- A summary progress report on the FY23 strategies (SSO required) is also available.
The Objective Leaders meet three times a year to provide updates on their strategies and to identify opportunities for collaboration. The objective leaders last met on October 23, 2023, and will next meet in March 2024
Help us tell the Jayhawks Rising story better
Please take 10 minutes, or less, to let us know how we can improve communications about Jayhawks Rising, the strategic plan for KU Lawrence and Edwards. Your answers will be anonymous.
Strategic alignment presentations FY 2024 completed!
December and January were busy months on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses, with each academic dean and vice provost sharing plans for their units that demonstrate intentional alignment with Jayhawks Rising and highlighting their resource and space needs with senior leadership. Now in their second year, these annual presentations ensure that we all work towards a common purpose as an ‘exceptional learning community that lifts each member and advances society’. With vice provosts included for the first time, there were twenty-five presentations, each packed with highlights and current or developing strategies to advance the objectives of our institutional priorities.
It is a pleasure for AIRE to work with all participants to facilitate this process and I want to thank all the deans and VPs for their presentations, and the time and effort spent with their teams to align their unit level plans to Jayhawks Rising in a data-informed manner.
These newsletters are published on the AIRE website . Please forward onto colleagues in your unit that would benefit from reading AIRE updates.