Degree Audit Learning Across State Borders
In recent months the Degree Audit Updater Project, a plan to change the way DARS data is both warehoused and accessed, has begun at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During the Big Ten Academic Alliance meeting on November 2-3, 2020, Assistant Registrar Eric MacKay, learned that the University of Iowa was beginning work on projects using degree audit data. In response, Eric reached out to Sara Morelli, Associate Registrar at the University of Iowa, about discussing UW–Madison’s progress regarding the Degree Audit Updater Project, as well as Iowa’s evolving data infrastructure needs.
On December 8, 2020 Eric MacKay and Sara Arnsdorf met with four members of Iowa’s team to share needs, goals, challenges, and best practices: Sara Morelli, Rita Minchk (Senior Application Developer), Bill Evanson (Senior Application Architect), and Julie Fell (Executive Associate Registrar).
During the conversation, Eric and Sara learned that – similar to UW–Madison – the University of Iowa currently accesses DARS data on premises and uses a homegrown database for reporting and analysis. Additionally, neither institution utilizes the vendor-available student self-service options; Iowa’s audit information is presented via customized, rendered PDFs.
As the conversation went on, the group discussed a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, which uAchieve fields may be ideal for identifying batches of data, how “exceptions” are managed, as well as the pros and cons of transforming data for consumption by campus personnel.
Madison and Iowa are embarking on significant changes regarding how DARS data is stored, accessed, and displayed/defined. As our data management changes are concurrently implemented, the option to continue sharing information and strategies, best practices and challenges, remains available. Staff at both institutions can use each other as resources, benefiting from outside perspectives and lessons learned.