Jena Zangs, chief data and analytics officer at the University of St. Thomas, was featured in EdTech magazine discussing how the university uses data to better understand and support students throughout their academic journey. In a Q&A, Zangs explained how predictive analytics, transparency and emerging tools such as AI-assisted advising help personalize the student experience, improve retention and ensure students feel seen and supported across campus.
From the article:
When you’re a regular at a coffee shop, the baristas know you by name and have your order ready before you reach the counter. That’s what the higher ed experience should be like for students, says Jena Zangs, chief data and analytics officer the University of St. Thomas. She told EdTech how her institution collects and uses data to personalize the student journey.
EDTECH: How do you use data to inform student engagement strategies?
ZANGS: We have our routine KPIs that all universities typically have when they’re looking at student engagement, such as class attendance. We’re looking at a variety of factors that allow us to see if we’re hitting our goals. That’s what we allow everyone around the university to see, because we want to be as transparent with the data as possible.
When you move down a layer, our data and analytics teams focus on predictive analytics and factors that most influence student retention. At the undergraduate and graduate level, we’re trying to determine within the first six weeks of class the top features we should be paying attention to and where the business effort should be going. And then we look at whether they are going to come back from spring to fall.
