Wayne State University is launching a new Data Literacy Institute with the end goal of improving student success at the Detroit-based university.
The institute was launched by the Division of Academic Affairs as part of the university’s accreditation. As part of each 10-year accreditation cycle, Wayne State proposes a quality initiative to submit to the Higher Learning Commission, its institutional accreditor. The latest initiative, based on feedback from faculty, staff, and university leadership, is focused on increasing access to data and training faculty and staff to help them use data to enhance student learning and outcomes.
The new initiative will be rolled out in multiple phases and is focused on three key components:
- Data Infrastructure: building a system that ensures institutional data is clean, relevant, current, and accessible.
- Data Literacy: educating and training individuals across campus and at all levels to effectively question, interpret, and utilize data.
- Data-Informed Decision-Making: designing and implementing data-informed interventions to improve student outcomes.
The university also said that the initiative will specifically target strategies toward “inclusive excellence.” The university said in a press release that by improving data infrastructure and literacy throughout the campus, Wayne State faculty, staff, and leadership will be better equipped to identify and address gaps in educational outcomes and enhance academic achievement for all.
“Diversity enriches our community, and Wayne State’s pursuit of equity enables our students, faculty, and staff to thrive,” said Donyale Padgett, interim vice provost for inclusive excellence and a member of the Quality Initiative Leadership Team. “Developing data-informed DEI strategies that bring us closer to our mission of inclusive excellence is important work that needs to be linked across the university campus.”
Ahead of the initiative, the university formed a Quality Initiative Advisory Committee (QIAC) that has helped plan, consult, and distribute critical information across campus. The QIAC members come from across the university, including Enrollment Management, the Office of Multicultural Student Engagement, the Office of Teaching and Learning, and WSU’s schools and colleges.
The QIAC also played a role in selecting the 29 fellows who will participate in the Data Literacy Institute, a 12-week program at the core of the Data Literacy component. Through the institute, the Provost’s Data Literacy Fellows will gain hands-on experience with data tools and best practices, work with colleagues across campus, and help promote data-informed decision-making at WSU. The cohort, selected through a competitive process, includes seven faculty members, 11 staff members, and 11 administrators.
