February 20, 2020

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for the advice and direction you provided last spring as a member of the Data Governance Council to affirm the vision and goals for an ongoing and evolving “Data Governance Framework” for the academic division. Following additional analysis this past fall and recent discussions with Christina Morell and Mark Anderson in Institutional Research and Analytics, we enthusiastically support the proposed next steps to accomplish the objectives of a data governance model. By moving forward with a systematic approach to data governance in the academic division, our goals are to improve data quality and usability; enable appropriate access to data; establish consistent data definitions; comply with applicable regulations and policies; and strengthen the foundation for analytics and reporting. Given our collective need for sound data to inform planning and decision-making and considering various projects underway that affect core institutional data sets, a coordinated and transparent approach to this work is especially critical.

As a next step, Christina Morell will provide additional information on her office’s plans to move forward with this work. Our ability to make data governance an operating norm hinges your input, participation, and collaboration. Thank you in advance for your contributions to this important goal. We look forward to learning of your progress and will be available to support this effort as necessary.

Sincerely,

Liz Magill, Provost

J.J. Davis, Executive Vice President & COO