Data is everywhere. For educational institutions, using business intelligence tools can seem like drinking from a fire hydrant. There is such a wealth of information coming from all directions without enough resources to manage it all. This results in the data getting lost along the way.
Like other major industries such as healthcare and manufacturing that have fully embraced business intelligence, the education sector is realizing the need to depend on data.
While schools and universities tend to be reluctant to make investments in technology, things are changing as educators ditch traditional holistic approaches for business intelligence.
It is essential to think how to maximize results and bring about a positive change to make the most of business intelligence. Since education facilities are not unique, it is possible to use the tools to attain success. The insights generated can be used for a variety of purposes.
This article takes a close look at the top three ways business intelligence can be used in education for bringing results.
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What Is Business Intelligence?
Before we cover how business intelligence can be used in education, it is important to know what it actually is. In the simplest of words, business intelligence is the use of software to transform data in order to generate actionable insights for making strategic decisions.
The tools allow one to access and analyze data to gather analytical findings in maps, charts, graphs, dashboards, summaries, and reports for detailed intelligence about an organization. They can be used for just about everything, from digital marketing services to mergers.
How Can Business Intelligence Be Used In Education?
1. Data Warehouses
Most educational institutions depend upon data. The fact is that schools, colleges, and classrooms already collect a ton of data without them even realizing it. Metrics such as overall grades, assignment competitions, and test scores are measured by every classroom.
In addition to the above, classrooms also collect rudimentary data like attendance and enrolment. The combination of this data can easily outpace that of major corporations. Most school administrators fail to use the vast amount of data that they collect adequately.
The main reason behind this is that there is a lack of cohesion and unity in collection and storage.
For instance, the test scores are kept by teachers, whereas enrolment statistics are kept by the administration office. This separation of data prevents the possibility of making connections for better decisions.
The introduction of data warehouses provides the best solution. With a data warehouse, an environment is created for all of the data in the organization. It allows for large and complicated data processing to be conducted efficiently and conducted.
From an educational perspective, decision-makers would get to access all of the data from a single location. Class schedules, test scores, attendance reports, and more would be at your fingertips. However, there is a need to invest in a usable interface.
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2. Data Visibility and Better Reporting
Diving deeper into the use of a user interface would provide data visibility and better reporting. With a user interface in place, it would allow the decision-makers to read and analyze the data accurately.
The latest business intelligence tools would allow for dashboard interfaces to be used. One would be able to generate clear and accurate data reports. As all the resources would be in a single location, it would be possible for all relevant data to be shown for connecting the dots and gathering improved insights.
The application of business intelligence helps boost data visibility. Massive amounts of data are collected by school districts every day. It includes operational data, budgets, district reports, and other information. Initially, this level of data may seem difficult to interpret.
Through the implementation of a data warehouse, raw data is converted to reach usable conclusions. Thus, educational institutes can quickly interpret key indicators. Data visibility and better reporting enable the discovery of vital information.
As big data is leveraged, it can help improve student results. Rather than using traditional methods such as exams and assignments, data trails can be used for obtaining a better overview of student performance.
Activities like how long it takes for students to answer a question, which questions they skip, and which sources they use can be monitored with the help of big data.
The behavioral analysis provides unique and substantial feedback about each student. The feedback can be used to improve student results.
3. Learn from the Results and Predict Future Behavior
Finally, another way, business intelligence in education brings results is by learning from those results. It is a continuous cycle where the organization analyzes the learning behavior of students to adjust immediately and react accordingly.
For example, interactive online learning tactics can be increased, and traditional methods can be avoided to adjust to the future of education. In addition to learning from the results, big data analysis also allows one to predict the behavior of students in the future.
Higher learning institutes can use big data to analyze student performance on the market and monitor their success in securing a job. It will prove beneficial in guiding future students in selecting the right course and program. Business intelligence enables schools to make better decisions and anticipate student behavior.
Technological advancements have transformed the processing of data. They have paved the way for providing data to be used as learning material. Therefore, it will help with future decision-making. Data-driven decision-making offers educational institutions the perfect opportunity to use their resources in the best way possible. It maximizes the return on data.
Takeaway - Business Intelligence in Education Brings Results
Business intelligence is transformative. It can be used in a variety of ways, such as for building data warehouses, data visibility and better reporting, and learning from the results along with predicting future behavior and business insights.
Educational institutions can benefit significantly from business intelligence. It can help improve decision-making and the overall quality of education. There is no limit to what can be achieved with big data. It offers unlimited potential.