CREATE EVIDENCE

Lumina Foundation supports efforts to establish a culture of evidence in higher education, using data to improve student success.

As a result of a national movement for improved accountability, more states are requiring postsecondary institutions to show how much and how well students are learning. In a national report PDF, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings encouraged the higher education community to adopt a "culture of evidence" and incorporate student learning outcome measures that are comparable across institutions. In building a culture of evidence, colleges and universities are more likely to improve their ability to systematically analyze data, develop effective strategies for enhancing student success, cultivate support for the strategies, and institutionalize new policies and practices that work.

Compelling data are a driving force in a culture of evidence, leading to measurable improvement in student learning and institutional change. With an emphasis on using data to promote student outcomes—rather than a focus on enrollment or federal reporting requirements—institutions are more likely to effect measurable change and improve student success for all students. In a recent Lumina-funded study, author Alicia Dowd suggests that institutions where a culture of inquiry exists find that "data moves out of the limelight, and practitioners move to center stage." More » PDF
Transforming the culture of an institution requires strong leadership. Institutions can begin building a culture of evidence by using data analysis and benchmarking to answer important questions about how particular student groups are progressing throughout the pipeline to graduation. As part of this process, faculty and other stakeholders must be given the opportunity, as well as the freedom, to test new approaches to using data for improved student outcomes. A recent Lumina publication highlights how leaders at three postsecondary institutions use data to inform and transform their institutions. More » PDF
Compelling, reliable data are vital for institutional decision making and accountability. Such data can be instrumental in fostering a culture of evidence, producing measurable impacts for all students and lasting campus change in the areas of retention, delivery of services, outcomes, and the efficient use of limited resources. Read the Pell Institute's Demography is not Destiny. PDF

Improving the capacity of institutions to effectively measure what students are learning is an essential component of education reform. Access to information on how students progress through the educational pipeline is extremely limited in higher education. This lack of data and accountability prevents policymakers, students and families from making informed education decisions. Read Culture of Evidence: An Evidence-Centered Approach to Accountability for Student Learning Outcomes. PDF

Increased awareness on transparency and accountability has prompted community colleges to refocus their attention from inputs (enrollment rates) to outcomes (rates of student success). Community colleges have a critical role to play in helping more students succeed in higher education. Nearly 1,200 community colleges across the nation enroll more than 11.6 million students—46 percent of all U.S. undergraduates and 45 percent of first-time freshmen—and they attract high proportions of low-income, minority and first-generation college students.

The movement of using data to drive student success is the basis for a number of promising reform efforts, including Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count. Launched in 2004, this program provides participating schools with support to implement strategies that help more students—particularly students of color and low-income students—earn degrees, complete certificates or transfer to other institutions to continue their studies. A central component of Achieving the Dream emphasizes building a culture of evidence so that colleges can use data to identify effective practices, improve student success rates and close achievement gaps.
Community colleges that are committed to building and sustaining a culture of evidence draw upon analyses of student outcome data to shape planning and budget priorities. Several innovative community colleges have taken steps to create and sustain an internal culture of evidence-based practice. Building a Culture of Evidence in Community Colleges: Lessons from Exemplary Institutions PDF looks at four community colleges that are considered national leaders in using institutional data and research strategically for student improvement.