(June 8, 2018) – UTSA President Taylor Eighmy today announced a new strategic initiative to advance the vision for UTSA. The Strategic Initiative on Data Governance and Integrity will cultivate the excellence of UTSA faculty and staff by providing them with the data they need to make effective decisions on the job.
“There are a variety of reasons we need to get a stronger grip on the way we govern and manage UTSA’s data,” said Eighmy. “Most critically, data provides the interconnectivity underneath all of our strategic initiatives. In particular, it’s essential that our task forces involved in student success, strategic enrollment, budget, weighted student credit hour optimization and research excellence are all basing their work on the same data.”
This initiative’s goal is to help UTSA excel in these areas:
- Greater security so that data risks are identified and resolved quickly
- Increased transparency that will come with the creation of standardized, reliable dashboards, making it easy for all to see exactly where UTSA stands on its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Enhanced accuracy to measure progress along the strategic planning and implementation pathway. As Eighmy mentioned in an email last week, ready access to consistent data will help the UTSA community assess how the university is doing and decide where to go next.
- Significant headway in the quest for Operational and Infrastructure Excellence. When this initiative wraps, UTSA will have increased efficiency, reliability, accuracy, accountability and communication regarding the management of its data.
Can Saygin, interim senior vice provost for institutional effectiveness and strategic initiatives, will lead the initiative, with assistance from a new Data Governance Council. Additional task forces will be created to tackle the technical, compliance-oriented and college-specific aspects of the work ahead.
The timing of this initiative intentionally coincides with the hiring of a new Vice President for Information Management Technology, who President Eighmy expects to have in place by September 1. The new VP will be a key player in overseeing the technical infrastructure behind UTSA’s data governance efforts.
“I am very much looking forward to the benefits we will all reap from the work of the Data Governance Council,” said Eighmy. “Though the nature of the work is not as visible as some of our other initiatives, the Council’s efforts will have a significant organizational impact that will be felt for years to come.”
