Center for Student Analytics
Helping to identify actionable solutions to improve student success.
A service entity within the Office of the Executive Vice President (EVP) at Utah State University, the Center for Student Analytics (CSA) uses data analytics to improve student success in collaboration with stakeholders and partners within and external to the university.
Projects & Initiatives
Learn about our current projects and initiatives.
Project Request
Submit a student analytics project request.
Resources
Explore reports, whitepapers, and webinars highlighting the impact of student analytics.
About CSA
Learn about our
mission, team and
history.
Recruitment to Graduation
With student success impacted from early decision making to graduation (and beyond), our projects and initiatives encompas the entire student journey.
Types of Analytics
Depending on the project or activity, our work is directed on the following types of data analytics and BIG questions.
The two main techniques used in descriptive analytics are data aggregation and data mining—where data is collected and presented in a summarized format (that’s the aggregation part) and then “mines” the data to discover patterns. The data is then presented in a way that can be easily understood by a wide audience (not just data experts).
Predictive analytics estimates the likelihood of a future outcome based on historical data and probability theory, and while it can never to completely accurate, it does eliminate much of the guesswork from key decisions. Actionable, data-driven insights are identified.
For this type of analysis, several techniques are utilized: probability theory, regression analysis, filtering, and time-series data analytics. Anomalies are identified and causal relationships are explored.
This type analysis considers a range of possible scenarios and assesses different actions that could be applied. Prescriptive analytics is one of the more complex types of analysis, and may involve working with algorithms, machine learning, and computational modeling procedures.
Benefits of Analytics
Analytics can help students see and reflect on their behavior in constructive ways to help them manage their progress toward their learning goals.
Analytics allow instructors to reflect on their own performance and seek better evidence for guiding instructional improvement.
Analytics allow staff to evaluate how individuals interact with services, resources, and tools, and how that interaction impacts outcomes.
Analytics allow program
directors or other administrators, to more easily see how well a program or service is performing, and draw meaningful comparisons across courses or students.
Areas of Focus
Support Services
Optimization of student-facing programs and services.
Teaching and Learning
Provide actionable data to improve teaching and learning.
Data Privacy
Utah State University VALUES PRIVACY and remains trustworthy by working with student data in an intentional and secure way. As part of these efforts, USU has a transparent privacy policy regarding the ethical use of data collected from the USU community, including procedures that prevent unauthorized access or disclosure of private student data.
Additionally, officers of the institution that work closely with student data use a transparent, collaborative approach to safeguard data against being used inappropriately. The controls and procedures utilized by the Center for Student Analytics to create this report align with federal and state laws regarding protection of privacy and also adhere to the highest standards of student data ethics.
If you have questions about the practices and procedures USU employs to protect student data, contact:
CENTER FOR STUDENT ANALYTICS
435-797-0623
analytics@usu.edu