Data Driven Decision Making Jenny Field Chief Academic Officer Evocca College

Evocca is a private training organisation, based in Queensland Australia, with 28 campuses throughout QLD, NSW and Victoria. We cater for the needs of over 12,000 students who either attend campus, do distance education or are trainees in workplaces – where the trainer visits the workplace for on-the-job training.

In Australia, we currently have yearly reporting of Quality Indicators Number of current students Number of completed students Number of current units and completed units Visit the NCVER website for research documents Including:

Providers who receive government funding must also report all activity of students. In QLD, with the new entitlement funding – additional data is required – which requires reporting of employment outcomes – with a KPI set for providers of 60% employment outcomes. Other reporting includes the student contribution fee collected – enabling the State Government to measure buy-in from the students.

From 2014, all training providers in Australia will be required to report “total VET activity”. This is the collection of data that will report every student in every course and every unit of competency.

The data tells us much more than input and outputs.…… We gain valuable insights into learners When an adult is marginalised, disadvantaged or just struggling to make ends meet …. Their situation is not improved by them just getting a part-time job Or just getting a low level qualification

The data tells us that…… Students who complete a Diploma qualification are likely to earn $400,000 more then a co-worker without a Diploma over their working life. (NCVER research 2012) “In God we trust, all others must bring data” Deming

The Australian Government are committed to an improved VET sector with higher quality and greater transparency for students, employers and governments including; greater access to training opportunities and improved outcomes for disadvantaged students; and greater efficiency. These goals must be measured by quality data.

From total VET activity reporting, stakeholders will be able to measure: The true size of the training market The number of people in the labour market with particular skills The $ investment in training in various areas The traffic – people starting and completing courses Trends – do we have enough people studying in skills shortage areas, do we have too many people studying in areas of low employment Diversity – do we have a fair and equitable system

But there is more….. Data collection and analysis shouldn’t just be to meet the needs of government or to report to external stakeholders. From the very beginning of the student relationship, we must use the data to better understand our students needs & goals. We need to engage learners and meet their needs. How do they learn best, what technology do they have access to, what prior experiences have they had?

Using data to guide program improvement 1.Do you know how your students learn best? 2.Do you know your student demographics? 3.Do you know if your students are satisfied with their learning? 4.How do you monitor tutor and student effort? 5.Does your data guide your continuous improvement? 6.Does your data meet the needs of government?

If we want to improve our educational systems, then we need to look at quality data to drive decision making that will benefit the student and the student outcomes.

We need to consider the use of data that will guide our program improvement so that it delivers better engagement and results for students, better productivity and efficiency for industry and also better job satisfaction for staff.

How do your students learn best Learning style indicators Literacy indicators Learning Contracts Individual Learning Plans Motivation indicators Profiling the student

Are your students satisfied with their learning? Monitoring satisfaction levels of students throughout the course Monitoring student forums Recording tutor engagement with students If you use your data to build a profile of the student, and display this visually for your training staff, the educators can be pro-active in their approach to design individualised learning. MotivationAttendanceOn Track

How to monitor tutor and student effort Monitoring systems to cater for flexible delivery Traffic lights Tracking attendance in a flexible learning environment Tracking study behaviour in LMS Tracking assessment submission rates Tracking completion rates and results Tracking job outcomes Tracking referrals and repeat business

Ideas for continuous improvement If the data tells you that every student takes twice as long as the allocated time to complete a unit of study – then understand what this data is telling you. Discuss the data with your tutors Student progression Student satisfaction Student engagement

If data is used to drive good decision making processes then educators can achieve better results for both students and employers.

It is critical to use the data effectively to help your college gain a deeper understanding of the student’s needs and develop effective strategies to better serve students and community as a whole.

We need to know what data to collect, why we are collecting it, and how to use the results to improve the educational outcomes for everyone.

In the current training environment everyone, regardless of background and ability, needs to have the opportunity to develop the skills they need to fully participate in society, be active citizens and positively contribute to nation’s future prosperity.

Great sources of data in Australia: (national council of vocational education research) (Australian Bureau of Statistics)

Jenny Field Chief Academic Officer Evocca College