WASHINGTON — In order to demonstrate what they are doing for students, colleges and universities must be willing to let data tell their story and stop perpetuating the faulty notion that charging a hefty tuition necessarily means students are getting a better education.
That was the argument that LSU President F. King Alexander made Wednesday at a gathering meant to get institutions of higher education to embrace a more comprehensive system of data that shows how they are performing on indicators that range from completion to employment.
“Data is important. Data exposes those that are ripping off the public. Data helps the institutions that are trying to show value, keep costs down, keep efficiencies up, and that’s the fight we’re in for the next 50 years of higher education,” Alexander said.
Alexander made his remarks at a forum titled “Envisioning the National Postsecondary Data Infrastructure in the 21st Century.” The event was convened by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, or IHEP, and was financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
While an overarching theme was to get institutions of higher education to embrace a data “ecosystem” that would provide more transparency about how students are transitioning from college and into the workforce—something already being done on a limited basis in various states—several speakers said more consideration must be given to the concerns being raised by those who believe in limited government about how a broader data system could compromise student privacy.
“I think that (privacy) needs to be treated more seriously and more seriously engaged with,” said Ben Miller, senior director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress.
“We need to say, ‘We hear you,’ and try to respond to privacy concerns,” Miller said.
