Introduction
Welcome back to 2017 and the third edition of the Planning Services'
e-newsletter - Focus on OPS.
We have some exciting initiatives planned for 2017 with enhancements to the Planning and Statistics Portal (PSP) including new and improved information on student completions, employability and UniForum benchmarking; all while increasing the security measures in place for our data.
Our Advanced Analytics team will focus on a number of initiatives in the areas of Big Data utilisation, applicant pathways, optimising our admissions process, retention modelling and exploring the available demand in prospective students. In 2016, a working party conducted a review of the best data visualisation tool.
A data visualisation tool is data presented in a tool in a visual format to make patterns, trends and complex concepts easier to recognise than text-based data.
In this edition, we will talk about securing our data, utilising Big Data and enhancing Applicant Pathway analysis. You will find some useful tips and links to access public higher education data. We are also pleased to share with you the results of the 2016 Student Experience of Course (SEC) survey and Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS), as well as an overview of the UniForum survey.
We hope you had a wonderful break and look forward to working together in 2017. Remember, if you have feedback don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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Table of Contents
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Keeping Data Secure
The Business Intelligence team are exploring more sophisticated security measures for data available in the Planning and Statistics Portal (PSP) to ensure you get tailored access to the information you need.
A range of aggregate student and staff data and strategic information is currently published in the PSP. Access to data is managed by Planning Services and subject to appropriate approval procedures.
The project aims to deliver automated access, replacing the current process of applying for access to restricted reports and having this processed manually. Other benefits include increased self-service capabilities, greater freedom of use and analysis of data in the PSP.
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Accessing Higher Education Data
Did you know?
A number of higher education datasets are available online that can provide context into planning activities. Links to some useful datasets are provided below.
 Department of Education Data
The Department of Education publishes half and full year student data by year. Data for 2015 is now available. You can access a variety of notable documents/datasets from the website, such as:
• Full year summary
• Infographic
• Student data by institution (see worksheets 5 - 10)
• Equity groups
• Equity performance data
• Attrition, success and retention
An example of the type of analysis you can perform using the data is shown in the figure below:
Table A10 Combined Applicants, offers and offer rates by institution, 2010-2016
 Notes:
1. Offer rates is the proportion of applicants with at least one valid preference (both TAC and direct applicants data combined) who receive an offer. Given that offers may result from lower order preferences, offer rates for certain institutions may exceed 100%.
Source: Australian Government, Department of Education and Training, 2016.
The table provides the number of Applications and Offers from 2010 to 2016 for Queensland institutions. Analysis of the data shows that, for Griffith University, the growth rate of Applications from 2010 to 2016 was 3% (+315), with a subsequent growth rate of 8% (+955) for Offers. This dataset can provide us with insights into other University's approaches to student intake. For example, for The University of Queensland, the growth rate of Applications from 2010 to 2016 decreased by 6% (-824), while the Offer rate was maintained (+41) between 2010 - 2016.
Griffith applications for 2017 have shown promising results so far. Watch this space for further information.
The Department of Education also publishes staff and student data via uCube, which allows users to interact with information.
QILT
The QILT website provides prospective students with relevant and transparent information about Australian higher education institutions from the perspective of recent students and graduates.1
Data is available on the student experience, graduate employment, graduation satisfaction and employment satisfaction. You can compare data across study areas or institutions.
Our Surveys website provides some useful resources to explain what each survey collects: https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/work/surveys/student-surveys.
Stats in Brief
Planning Services ensures a number of key Griffith statistics are available to the public on the Stats in Brief webpage. Statistics are available for student enrolments, student EFTSL (Equivalent Full Time Student Load), program completions and staff FTE (Full Time Equivalent).
Still can’t find what you’re looking for?
We can provide you with custom aggregated data, for applicants, students and staff. Submit a statistical request online, which will be lodged to our Business Intelligence team.
1 Quality indicators for learning and teaching (QILT) 2017, About this site, https://www.qilt.edu.au/
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Big Data Era
What is Big Data?
Students leave digital footprints across campuses and virtual learning environments. These footprints provide valuable data on students’ movements, such as where the students visit; what they download and how they work. This is achieved by analysing information like access to campus buildings, library records, downloaded e-books and lecture recordings. To manage the size and complexity of this data, a Data Lake is required to provide more analytical flexibility in the long term.
The Advanced Analytics team has been working to launch a Data Lake for predictive modelling and learning analytics. An increasing number of higher education institutions across the world are starting to utilise Big Data to improve student experience, teaching effectiveness and improve administrative operations.
What is a Data Lake?
A Data Lake is a large storage repository that can hold a vast amount of raw data in its native format.2 It allows analysts to connect large and disparate datasets together to perform deeper and more meaningful analysis, and assist with data integration problems.
As part of this, we are looking at using Amazon Web Services (AWS) which will allow us to store data in the Cloud and on the premises.
What privacy and ethical implications are there?
As the University’s privacy principles state, we collect, store and use student personal information to administer enrolment, education and support services, and access to library and information technology services. This information is also used to administer and personalise delivery of services; financial arrangements; student accommodation; scholarships, bursaries, awards and prizes; and student-centred learning resources including online interactive tools and tools developed for activities associated with any aspect of student learning, including practicum and professional placements.
Use of student data is governed by the Information Privacy Act 2009 (‘IP Act’)and the privacy principles that are enshrined in the IP Act.
2 Maroto, C 2016, A data lake architecture with hadoop and open source search engines, Using enterprise data lakes for modern analytics and business intelligence, Search Technologies, http://www.searchtechnologies.com/blog/search-data-lake-with-big-data
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Exploring our Applicant Pathways
In 2016, the Advanced Analytics team re-developed the Griffith Connect School student dashboard to improve the quality and availability of pathway data. This dashboard helps build our understanding of how students from different pathways perform. The second phase of the project is now underway which will extend on the existing dashboard to provide applicant conversion rates, applicant quality/characteristics, and post-enrolment performance.
The initial focus will be on a high-level overview of the conversion rates from application to offer, acceptance and enrolment (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Application to offer, acceptance and enrolment
The ultimate goal of the dashboard is to include all key information of the student lifecycle, from application to graduation (see Figure 2). It will be useful to attract better quality students, and enhance University services and strategies.
Figure 2. Student Lifecycle
Thanks to great inter-team collaboration in OPS, a prototype dashboard has recently been showcased to stakeholders to obtain feedback. If you would like to be involved, please get in touch with Leo Shenqu, Insights Analyst on ext. 58075 or email l.shenqu@griffith.edu.au.
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2016 Student Experience of Course (SEC) Results
In 2016, the University achieved 78.3% overall course satisfaction in the SEC survey, which is the highest rating since the introduction of the online SEC in 2010. In addition, 88.1% of courses achieved a mean overall satisfaction rating of 3.5 or higher on the 5-point Likert scale, against the University target of 90%.
The overall full year performance infographic can be viewed here https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/work/surveys/secure-folder/SEC-Results-_-2016-sem-1-and-2-compared.pdf. Individual results for each of the academic groups will be coming soon!
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2016 Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) Results
The 2016 GOS survey results have now been released. The survey highlighted our strengths in the areas of overall satisfaction and good teaching; and reinforced the growing need to invest in employability initiatives for students both during and following their studies.
Griffith exceeded the national average for overall satisfaction at 81.5% compared to 81.4%. Comparison against other institutions in South East Queensland shows that Griffith students report higher satisfaction than those at UQ (81.4%) and QUT (80.1%), with Bond University leading the way (88.8%).
To see the full infographic please click here.
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What is the UniForum Survey about?
UniForum is a general staff benchmarking activity to assess and improve efficiency and effectiveness. At Griffith, UniForum is sponsored by Colin McAndrew, Vice President (Corporate Services) and is administered through Planning Services. 2017 will be the sixth year of Griffith participation and currently there are 24 universities across Australia and New Zealand participating in the annual program and 18 universities from the UK’s Russell Group.
The UniForum survey provides us with important insights into our operations and assists in making informed decisions relating to areas such as service delivery costs, organisation design, process redesign and investment priorities.
The annual collection of data commences in February and covers all administration and support service resources in three stages:
• Professional staff on the payroll
• Academic staff who take on management roles in Schools,
Research Centres, Institutes or other Divisions
• Supplier services contracted to the University (for example, cleaners)
The survey gathers data on how each person’s time is allocated to key activities and this data is input by supervisors and line managers.
The UniForum team this year is headed by Ema Begley as Program Manager and supported by Jess Summers and Luke Chapman. If you have any queries, please email uniforum@griffith.edu.au.
The team would like to acknowledge the time and effort of all involved in UniForum. This provides high quality, valuable data for us to use every year!
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Senior Leadership Conference
As part of the new Showcasing Griffith Innovation initiative at the Senior Leadership conference this February, Planning Services was proud to present on 'University analytics, reporting and data'. A number of data enthusiasts attended from the Office, eager to share the past and current insights available, and collaborate with our Senior Leaders on the new opportunities to optimise information for decision making. Overall the showcase was a success. For more information on what Planning Services can deliver please contact us through Planning-Group@griffith.edu.au.
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Seven Significant Reviews
2017 promises to be another exciting year for the Organisational Reviews team. Seven reviews are planned from April through to November and will span all four academic Groups; as well as administrative areas such as Learning Futures.
Review of the following elements will take place during the first half of 2017:
• Queensland Conservatorium: 9-12 April
• Learning Futures: 8-11 May
• Department of International Business and
Asian Studies: 3-6 July
From 2017, Organisational Reviews will have an even greater focus on the future directions and forward planning of the element. This is reflected in the newly revised Terms of Reference for Academic Reviews, which guide each review, approved by Council in December 2016.
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Musings from our Resident Nerd
Keen on discovering more about what the Advanced Analytics team has been working on? Read our Donor Programs Analysis study, where Advanced Analytics and Learning Futures joined forces to investigate students who leave their program and go to
other institutions.
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Introducing our New Team Members
Zoe Stanhope
Zoe Stanhope has recently joined OPS as Executive Support Officer to the Director of Planning Services.
Prior to the appointment, Zoe worked as an EA to two directors of an international franchise business. Zoe’s experience in the set up and development of businesses has taken her all over the country and the world.
Zoe has formally studied both accounting and social science and is looking forward to using these skills in her new role as she manages tasks while working alongside a variety of individuals.
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Georgina Barry
Georgina Barry has held a number of roles in the higher and secondary education sectors, including experience in policy and curriculum development, project management, grants and award development, quality assurance and compliance.
Georgina's experience in quality assurance and compliance at Griffith includes her involvement in the University's re-registration application to TEQSA in 2014 as a member of Academic Services and as Manager, International Compliance in Griffith International in 2015-2016.
Georgina's background in compliance and her passion for continuous review and improvement will be utilised as a member of the University's Organisational Reviews Unit.
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Lydia Milne
Lydia joined the Organisational Reviews unit in early 2017 after serving in the role of Executive Support Officer to the Director of Planning Services.
Over her career, Lydia has provided high-level business administration and secretarial support in a variety of roles, including for members of Queensland Parliament. Her interest in Organisational Reviews was piqued by the systematic nature of the review cycle and the opportunity to work in a small, close-knit team.
Lydia applies her skills to planning, implementing and managing the administrative aspects of each review, concurrent with supporting the Organisational Reviews team through effective communication, adherence to established policy and procedures, and oversight of logistical details in a high-volume environment.
 Naomi Collyer
Naomi Collyer has been working as Executive Support Officer to the Director of Planning Services since September 2015 and has recently been appointed to the new Executive Officer role in the Office.
Naomi has built a career in executive support roles and spent the last six years working in a number of planning and finance roles in the higher education sector, and is currently studying a Bachelor of Psychological Science.
Naomi’s experience in higher education and planning; and commitment to excellence in service will help the Office achieve its goals and vision for the future.
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End of Year Wins 
2016 OPS Video
Share the highlights and achievements that the Office of Planning Services accomplished over 2016
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PSP FAQ's
Answering Your Questions
Having trouble navigating the PSP? Read our new 'Frequently Asked Questions' webpage
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