Melinda Roy
This is the fourth post in the series on Data Governance and Data Literacy skills in higher education by role. See the rest of the series: Admissions and Financial Aid Officers, roles in Registration and Records offices, and the introductory post which looks at Institutional Research Analysts.
Every person on campus, from employees, leaders, and students, will interact with the work produced by Information Technology (IT) professionals, and likely IT employees directly, at some point. Because of this unique position, IT employees can be a crucial asset in every institutions plan for data governance adoption, promotion, and management.
IT professionals in higher education go by a variety of titles, and the roles attract highly analytical, technical, and (often) binary thinkers. Database Administrators and Systems Analysts, among other roles, likely have a strong background in many data-related skills such as data integration, security, and metadata management. But there are data literacy skills, which when developed in IT professionals, that help institutions build and maintain a resilient and widely adopted data governance program.
Database Administrators: The Custodians of Data Integrity
Database Administrators (DBAs) are responsible for managing the performance, integrity, and security of an institution’s databases. While they are already experts in database management, there are key data literacy skills that can further enhance their contributions:
1. Data Governance Alignment DBAs are often focused on the technical aspects of database management, but understanding data governance principles can align their work with broader institutional objectives. By understanding the governing policies and standards of data management, and how they align with the governing strategies for enrolment management and institution future planning, DBAs can ensure the databases they manage not only run smoothly but are scalable. Technical tools and data sources must often grow in advance of and alongside an institutions strategic plan to maintain momentum towards goal achievement. When this alignment is missing from a data governance plan, or when IT is excluded from strategic planning, DBAss may be given unreasonable timelines to update tools and database functionality to meet those goals. When DBAs have this understanding, they can initiate important conversations about the timelines of a goal, and cost (both workload and technical resources) to make the necessary changes to the database.
2. Mastering Data Integration In modern institutions, data is stored across multiple systems and platforms. DBAs who understand data integration techniques and are familiar with the existing data systems used on campus can ensure seamless data flow between these systems. This skill reduces data silos, improves the accessibility and usability of data across the institution, and knowledge of the different tools can help dispel myths that integrating them is too complicated. As technology changes and institutions introduce new data processing and visualization tools, DBAs must keep their skills and knowledge of data integration tools, trends, and approaches, up to date to ensure smooth integration of data from and to these new tools. Further, this supports data governance maturity as they may well have a vision of how to technically enable advanced analytics and enhancing reporting through integration, and appropriately map their role in managing the tools or integrations in the governance framework.
3. Communicating with a Non-Technical Audience DBAs often need to explain complex data structures and processes to colleagues who may not have a technical background. Developing good communication skills allows them to translate technical jargon into clear, understandable language. This ability helps ensure all stakeholders, from department heads to executives, can make informed decisions based on accurate data insight interpretations, and align technical solutions with institutional needs. By using the common data language of the institution, rather than the language of their technical peers, they can help build data literacy skills and knowledge in others, to support constructive conversations and collaborations in data governance development and management. While a metadata governance such as Plaid Govern helps, the conversation of data governance often starts before a tool is implemented, and must continue on as part of any data governance management plan after a metadata governance tool has been implemented.
Systems Analysts: The Architects of Technological Efficiency
Systems Analysts are responsible for analyzing, designing, and implementing IT systems to meet the needs of the institution. Like their DBA counterparts, they likely have strong technical data literacy skills. To leverage the tools to their fullest, and support data governance, Systems Analysts can improve on the following aspects of data literacy:
1. Data Quality Assurance Systems Analysts must ensure that the data flowing through institutional systems is accurate and reliable. Understanding and implementing data quality management principles allows them to detect and resolve data issues early, ensuring that decisions based on this data are sound. This not only improves the quality of insights but also reinforces the credibility of the IT function within the institution. Plaid Govern and other metadata management tools can help build up this understanding for Systems Analysts and other data users on campus, as the definitions, field variables, and appropriate uses are documented in an accessible and up-to-date universal location.
2. Communicating to Understand Client Needs and Tool Use Systems Analysts often serve as the bridge between technical teams and end-users. Developing strong communication and interview skills is crucial for understanding the specific needs of different departments and how they use various tools. By asking the right questions to understand the end-user use, then explaining the solution they've implemented, Systems Analysts ensure that the tailored solutions they've built not only meet the exact requirements of their clients, but that the clients know how to use them.
Strengthen Data Governance with Plaid Govern
Plaid Govern is a cloud-based metadata management solution designed specifically for higher education institutions, empowering CIOs and IT departments to streamline data governance, improve data quality, and support evidence-based decision-making across campus. Plaid Govern centralizes data definitions, clarifies data lineage, and simplifies impact analysis. With it's automated metadata ingestion, easy-to-navigate interface, and built to support common campus and vendor systems in the higher education sector, Plaid Govern simplifies complex data ecosystems and promotes data literacy across campus.
Learn With Us: Data Governance Workshops
Ready to learn more about data governance and why metadata matters? Our data governance workshops dispel the myth that data governance is just an IT responsibility, helping all participants see data as a business asset and a key component to the success in their own roles and departments for improving student experiences and outcomes at your institution.