SUNY Press features Atrium on new publication cover

building a smarter univserity“Building a Smarter University,” a new collection of essays considering the role of Big Data in 21st century university management, includes cover design featuring the SUNY New Paltz Atrium.

The book’s foreword, by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, and 11 essays argue that institutions of higher learning can do more with data to foster innovation and ingenuity in the academy. Specific suggestions are made for how data can be used to improve student learning experiences and outcomes, educate the next generation of data scientists, enhance research initiatives, support effective community outreach and develop campus infrastructure.

New Paltz is using accumulated data to perform self-assessment, inform institutional decisions and plan for the future. The Strategic Plan, published in 2013, is one notable example of a data-driven document with wide-ranging implications for short- and long-term decision-making in academics, administration and facilities management.

In addition, the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) provides quality information and analysis services to support planning, decision-making and assessment at a variety of organizational levels, while also maintaining reporting requirements for external agencies and organziations.

“Effective analysis and use of data is essential to ensure that we are supporting and serving our students and for strategic and long-term planning,” said Lucy Walker, assistant vice president for Institutional Research. “In the absence of data we have only anecdotal evidence. Data give the complete picture of the student experience and campus processes and indicate areas to target for improvement where we can have the most impact.”

More information about the Office of Institutional Research is available online.

Purchasing information for “Building a Smarter University” can be found at the website of SUNY Press.