1. Building upon the Canadian Digital Data Mosaic
Charmaine Hack, President, ARUCC (Ryerson University)
Romesh Vadivel, Vice-President, ARUCC (McGill University)
Andrew Arida, Past President, ARUCC (University of British Columbia)

2. Overview Current State: Digital Student Data in Canada
ARUCC Groningen Declaration Taskforce
Action Items: Research Information Request
Discussion

3. Build upon the metaphor of the Canadian mosaic
Build upon the metaphor of the Canadian mosaic. We have a great diversity of data mobility systems right now. Instead of a centralized national approach (as you may see in the US), we have a decentralized model that has lead to different jurisdictions with different capacities. Our goal is to find a way to move forward with a national system that respects the diversity that already exist in our ecosystem.

4. The Canadian Electronic Student Data Exchange Mosaic: Current State
National application centre
Provincial application centre
Intra-provincial movement of electronic data
Inter-provincial movement of electronic data
International movement of electronic data
Secondary to
Post-Secondary --
Ontario
Alberta
BC (in 2019)
Yes
Other are direct from Ministry
No (some exceptions)
Post-Secondary to
Some (EDI / PDFs), but only among certain institutions
Ontario to BC (pilot)
The goal here is to illustrate just how varied our systems are in Canada (walk the audience through the different columns). There isn’t one dominant or defining approach; there isn’t even consistency in our decentralization. Hence the challenge to move forward.

5. The Canadian Electronic Student Data Exchange Mosaic: Origins and Reasons Why
Education falls to provincial, not national, jurisdiction.
Electronic data hubs developed at a provincial level.
Diverse network of universities, colleges and technical institutes.
High level of intra-provincial mobility (between institutions and institution types) by design; less so at the national level.
Mandate and drive comes at a provincial level, so we typically only see new capacity at the provincial level.
Third point: the system has been designed to have a high level of mobility, but only at the provincial level. So our first approach is always to think of data moving within the provinces in a manner that supports intra-provincial mobility.

6. ARUCC and the Groningen Declaration Taskforce
Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada
Signed Groningen Declaration on behalf of all Canadian post- secondary institutions in 2015
Taskforce struck to champion the engagement of Canadian institutions in the implementation of the Groningen Declaration by fostering an ethos, culture and network that removes impediments for data portability, and provides the foundation for student mobility.
First Step: environmental scan / stakeholder survey
Talk about the process we put in motion to get the survey.

7. ARUCC and the Groningen Declaration Taskforce
Exploration and development of a data-exchange model that:
is accessible in both French and English (Canada’s two official languages);
builds on provincial models;
is scalable and will fill the gaps in each region;
provides a point of contact to international data exchange networks;
provides authentic, reliable data in a secure and standard manner.
Guiding principles: flexible, cohesive, scalable, single, secure point of contact.
Re: scalable: meaning both small and large institutions can access.

8. ARUCC and the Groningen Declaration Taskforce
Guiding benefits:
improve service to students,
support and improve student mobility,
promote national dialogue re: student mobility and success, and
align with the national/ international goals of other Canadian postsecondary stakeholders
With ARUCC taking the lead, create a governance model of a national joint steering committee to provide oversight.
Postsecondary institutions, provincial data-sharing hubs, provincial transfer articulation groups, and post-secondary CIOs.
Mention that the survey results were presented at our biennial conference at AG. We received a clear endorsement of the conclusions of the survey and a mandate to use organization resources to move forward with two action items…

9. ARUCC and the Groningen Declaration Taskforce: - Discussion -
ACTION ITEM: Fall 2017
Create a Research Information Request for a blueprint of a pan-Canadian data exchange model (see under “Resources”).
Solution should consider and build upon existing capacities - the Canadian “mosaic”.
ACTION ITEM: Spring 2018
Use the results of the RRI to build a business case to support enact the initiative (ARUCC Biennial General Meeting in June 2018).
Elaborate on what we are after with the RRI.
We need advice on how to build capacity at a national level that considers a few key variables:
The feedback we received made it clear that provincial jurisdictions with more developed data exchange models do not want to abandon what they currently have or “take a step back” in order to align / build capacity at a national level. So we need advice that will either a) accommodate and build upon our varied existing capacities or b) suggest a new approach that is so markedly different and better than current capacities that the business case to modify is extremely compelling. Provincial jurisdictions have invested significantly in their existing networks and like what they currently have; anything that requires a substantial shift will require very compelling business case.
The RRI is being centrally funded by ARUCC. But developing the ideas that come out of the RRI is going to depend upon a collaborative (or consortium-based) funding model from stakeholder groups and institutions across Canada. We do not have a national Ministry or funding source, so individual actors are going to have to see a clear ”what’s in it for me” benefit statement to contribute resources.
We are open to new conceptual models. We are not limiting the project to ”who can suggest the best ”hub’n’spoke” model”; if there are new ways of thinking about these issues, we want to hear about it.

11. Research Questions Organizational background and history
Previous consultations and work in HE field
Accommodating diversity of Canadian HE landscape
Suggested methodology, phases and timelines
Resources and skills required from ARUCC / Canadian HE
Lessons learned and anticipating new challenges

12. Q&A