From Accreditation Recommendation to Data Strategy: Building an Institutional Data Hub

Institutions are increasingly asked through accreditation and audit processes to demonstrate that institutional data used for planning, resource allocation, and student success efforts is accessible, reliable, and transparent across the organization. Many campuses struggle to meet these expectations when data is fragmented across systems and is difficult for faculty, staff, and leaders to access or trust. This workshop shares the experience of responding to an accreditation recommendation to develop a widely available institutional data system that supports evaluation, planning, and decision-making across the institution. Over an 18-month period, Utah Valley University developed a centralized data hub supported by data governance structures, shared metric definitions, data access policies, dashboards, and data literacy initiatives designed to make trusted data broadly available. Participants will examine the implementation journey and learn a step-by-step model for responding to accreditation recommendations related to institutional data. Through examples from the implementation process, the presentation will identify governance and access gaps, explore strategies for designing a centralized data hub, and share ideas participants can use to strengthen data-informed decision-making at their own institutions.