The Learning Lab experience is supported by both asynchronous and synchronous components. Each part includes a set of resources, an asynchronous discussion, and an interactive live session, all of which culminate in the development of a project to apply learning to local and specific contexts in support of the learning objectives.
Schedule
Part 1: The Why: Establishing the Program Purpose and Foundation
December 1, 2026 | 3:00–4:30 p.m.ET
In this opening session, you will explore why institutions are increasingly establishing formal data literacy programs and how these efforts support institutional strategy, decision-making, and culture change. You will examine how to move beyond fragmented and siloed data practices to build a shared foundation of data literacy that empowers faculty, staff, and leaders to make confident, informed decisions. You will also explore the relationship between data governance and data literacy, demonstrating how the two work together to strengthen institutional data culture and promote more effective, ethical, and consistent use of data across campus.
Learning Objectives
- Pinpoint your institution’s primary purpose and strategic drivers for building a data literacy program.
- Understand how data governance and data literacy work together to strengthen institutional data culture and foster cross-unit collaboration.
- Explain how moving beyond fragmented data efforts to a shared foundation can support more confident, informed decision-making across campus.
Part 2: The Who: Knowing Your Audience
December 3, 2026 | 3:00–4:30 p.m.ET
Once you've established the purpose of your data literacy program, you need a clear picture of who it will serve. In higher education, this means grappling with a fundamental question: Are you designing for staff, faculty, or both? For dedicated data users or the institution at large? These decisions have significant implications for resource allocation and program design. This session will explore audience types and data literacy personas, examine how role, function, and institutional context shape learner needs, and consider how peer institutions have approached audience definition.
Learning Objectives
- Weigh the tradeoffs involved in defining program scope across staff, faculty, and other potential audiences.
- Identify key data literacy personas and connect them to relevant program design considerations.
- Reflect on how your own institutional audience shapes decisions about program scope and focus.
Part 3: The What: Creating a Program with Purpose
December 8, 2026 | 3:00–4:30 p.m.ET
After you’ve established the need for building a data literacy program and your primary audiences, you’ll need to determine what content to include and the design that aligns with your audiences’ existing knowledge. This session will explore the components of the data life cycle and lead learners in a discussion of the costs and benefits associated with focusing on a handful of elements versus all data life cycle elements, incorporating resources currently available on your campus, and delving into emerging technologies like AI. Clarifying which leading institutional examples do well in this space will be identified and discussed.
Learning Objectives
- Communicate the elements of the data life cycle and the bases for program content inclusion/exclusion.
- Recognize audience needs and outline pertinent content.
Part 4: The How: Designing for Delivery and Sustainability
December 10, 2026 | 3:00–4:30 p.m.ET
The most thoughtfully designed data literacy program will fall short if it can't be delivered consistently, scaled over time, or sustained without heroic effort. In this closing session, you will examine the full range of delivery models institutions have used, including centralized workshops, embedded training, self-paced modules, and cohort-based learning, and explore how to match delivery strategy to your institutional culture and resource constraints. You will also tackle the harder questions of sustainability: How do you build cross-campus partnerships that share the load, secure ongoing buy-in from leadership, and design a program that evolves as institutional needs change? You will leave with the final piece of your roadmap: a realistic delivery and sustainability plan grounded in your institution's context.
Learning Objectives
- Evaluate delivery models and select the approach(es) best suited to your institutional context and resources.
- Identify cross-campus partners needed to build and sustain a data literacy program.
- Design a sustainability strategy that accounts for resource constraints, leadership engagement, and program evolution.
Lab Project/Assignments
Throughout this lab, you will develop a roadmap for your institution’s data literacy program. Your institution may have a few ideas (or just be getting started) on what its data literacy program would include. Yet it finds it needs guidance and support for detailing content, identifying the primary audience(s), crafting a sustainable path to make the program a reality, and determining how to communicate the importance of data literacy to the larger community. This lab will walk you through each of these critical program components and provide feedback and support as you develop your data literacy program roadmap.