Data @ W&M

This year W&M IT welcomed the university's inaugural Chief Data Officer (CDO). Barbara Forth is leading the W&M Data Team, which consists of the Institutional Research and Business Intelligence teams in the deployment of analytics, data governance and management infrastructure to generate insights to be used to improve organizational decision-making and excellence.

W&M aspires to data excellence in the administration and support of teaching, learning, research, community action and university operations. While the W&M Data Team is new to the university, they've hit the ground running and are putting plans and initiatives in place to bring W&M to the next level in terms of data fluency and management.

Data Governance Advisory Council (DGAC)

The DGAC has made a great deal of progress this year and framed the Data @ W&M strategy, objectives, approach, benefits and principles. The DG working teams will solve existing data challenges, support key initiatives, define data standards and recommend best usage. Existing working groups are folded into the W&M DG working team and will pilot the approach and expand to teams for Student and Faculty next semester.

Strategy

W&M aspires to data excellence in the administration and support of teaching, learning, research, community action and university operations.

Data Objective

Improve organizational decision making and excellence through a laser focus on data fluency, governance, and management across the entire W&M university.
Manage data as an Asset in a way that empowers W&M faculty and staff to use data in increasingly effective, efficient and ethical ways.

Approach

Join stakeholders from diverse data silos in an ongoing process to ensure high quality data is available to make data-informed decisions for the entire W&M community, at all levels.
Operationalize Data Self-service and enable advanced data technologies and capabilities (Analytics, External Data, ML and AI) and share learnings.

Benefits

An empowered W&M community who are comfortable asking data-related questions because they know
- What data means?
- How to access data?
- How data should be used?

Data Principles

Data is a sustainable W&M asset.
Data quality and informed usage is the responsibility of W&M Faculty, Staff and Students.
Data is secured and used in legal and ethical ways; privacy is respected.
Data is defined collaboratively by data stewards/owners with best usage.
Data is timely and is readily available.
Data flow is actively managed and communicated.
Data curiosity and skills are everyone's responsibility; W&M supports data learning.
Data is understood and used in context.
Decisions are made on quality data. (Accurate, Completeness, Consistency, Integrity, Timeliness, Reasonability)
W&M community has shared quality data to do their best work.

We are taking a practical approach with a motto of “Building by Doing”. Sub-teams for DGAC Communications as well as Data Fluency with co-leadership from W&M business areas and CDO/IT teams are being established. The W&M DG working team is piloting the approach and will expand to teams for Student and Faculty.

Team Members

Barbara Forth (CDO) & Sallie Marchello (AP/UReg) – Co-Chairs Data Governance Advisor Council
DGAC Members:
- Advancement (Dan Frezza)
- AP/UReg (Sallie Marchello)
- CDO (Barbara Forth)
- UG Adm/Enrollment ( Tim Wolfe)
- Finance (Jacob Long)
- Grad A&S (Virginia Torczon)
- HR (Chris Lee)
- Provost (Martha Wescoat-Andes)
- Research (Bernie Kulas)