Student Data Super User Program

Overview

In April the Office of the CFO and campus finance leaders launched the Cal Answers Student Data Super User Program, which will eventually become the Cal Answers Student Data Community of Practice. Super Users will provide the important function of ensuring our campus has a cohesive group of senior-level data analysts with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to help define and analyze the most critical student data issues. Cal Answers Student Data includes information about undergraduate applicants, curriculum, demographics and outcomes, and financial aid.

Super Users were selected by their leadership team because of their data analysis experience, knowledge of their unit’s priorities and processes, and innovative problem solving skills. The group is invite-only at this point; we’ll be opening up the group into the broader campus-wide Community of Practice in Summer 2017.

The Super User program will provide the selected staff with a unique leadership and professional development opportunity to become an expert in a campus-wide tool that supports data-driven decision making, and will offer our campus units a local person to assist them with their Cal Answers Student Data analytical research.

The Co-Chairs of the Cal Answers Student Data Community of Practice are:

• Dat Le, Assistant Dean of Administration for the College of Engineering
• Sereeta Alexander, Institutional Research Analyst, Office of Planning & Analysis

Super Users will spend approximately 4-6 hours per month:

• (Spring/Summer 2016) Participating in a training cohort to learn about Cal Answers Student Data from a team of campus experts to ensure they’re well informed about the student data available in Cal Answers and how to access and interpret that data

• (Winter 2016) After training is complete, actively participating in monthly campus-wide Community of Practice collaborative working sessions where they’ll share best practices via peer‐to‐peer learning; inform improvements to processes, procedures, tools, and training materials; solve challenging problems, and create new opportunities for using Cal Answers Student Data on campus

• (Summer 2017 and beyond) As needed, supporting their unit’s staff by providing updates on Cal Answers enhancements and answering questions about using the tool and interpreting the data

These are the best and brightest analysts on campus, and we’re thrilled for the opportunity to work with them more closely. We look forward to providing them with information and resources they can immediately apply to support their office. 

Student Data Super Users in Training