Better data, better decisions: Using data to inform state policy
This session presented highlights and trends from the 2016 legislative sessions; during the subsequent facilitated discussion, LAC members shared their perspectives.
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“Data-driven decision making” has become a ubiquitous phrase in just about any materials on good government and policymaking. But taking advantage of the data resources that exist and actually applying them to real-world policy problems is a formidable challenge. This session examined the current “data ecosystem” in higher education and workforce development to show the strengths and weaknesses of potential data sources, including State Longitudinal Data Systems, federal education datasets, the National Student Clearinghouse, the Multistate Longitudinal Data Exchange, and the Wage Record Interchange System. Examples from states using these diverse sources provided a framework for a facilitated discussion on how to use data to improve a range of policies and practices.
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Several Western states have a long history of using dual and concurrent enrollment as a strategy to increase student access and success, and to reduce costs for students. This session explored what the available data show about this approach, including issues related to student outcomes, equity, cost, and quality.
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For the last several years, states have increasingly used outcomes-based funding—which directly connects state funding to a postsecondary institution’s performance on indicators such as student persistence, credit accrual, and college completion—as a way to incentivize institutions to behave in certain ways, generally toward better college outcomes. As most states have made enormous investments in performance funding, questions about whether this strategy has achieved its intended outcomes, and whether it has produced unintended consequences have not been adequately answered (e.g., restrictions in access for underrepresented students or weakening of academic standards). By drawing on data previously unavailable, researchers have begun to investigate these important questions, and this session covered what they have found so far.
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Postsecondary attainment across the United States is increasing, but underlying these promising data are trends showing that certain groups of Americans, including those from low-income and certain racial/ethnic backgrounds are not earning postsecondary credentials at the same rates as other students. This session highlighted Colorado’s efforts at the state and institutional levels to address the attainment gap through the use of data.
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State legislators often ask, “When will distance education start to save us money?” They want to know about the “cost” of creating, offering, and supporting courses and about the “price” that students ultimately pay in tuition and fees. This session presented results of a survey of colleges about both cost and price, recent legislative and gubernatorial actions, and options for consideration.
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Policymakers are increasingly searching for evidence-based strategies that lead to student success. In recent years, three approaches—guided pathways, direct admissions, and co-requisite remediation—have emerged with promising results. This session covered these strategies, what makes them effective, and what the data tell us.
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