Can a culture of analytics make colleges and universities more future ready?

[amacisaac]

Even before the outbreak of COVID-19 the Higher Education industry was navigating through a period of disruption. This disruption was caused by declining enrollments, risks to student retention, increased competition, and financial pressures.  With COVID-19 the disruption facing colleges and universities has, to say the least, been elevated and accelerated. The picture below shows some of the projected impacts from COVID-19 on higher education according to recent research and news reports.

Obviously, I believe that an increased focus on advanced analytics can help colleges and universities better navigate the disruption and plot a path that is more sustainable, adaptable, and agile. A recent presentation by an Alteryx client in higher education called out that by using the Alteryx platform their organization benefited from faster time to insight,  increased collaboration, and transparency, and they are better positioned as a future-ready institution.

The last benefit really strikes me as being a great explanation of why developing a strong culture of analytics is so important, especially in this era of disruption.

But what do you think?  Is having a culture of analytics important to the long-term viability of colleges and universities?