Building Capacity to Improve Student Outcomes at Wiley College
Impact at a Glance
Accelerated development of institution-specific Power BI dashboards
Connected existing data sources to accessible visualizations
Expanded the use of data to support enrollment and retention
Built internal capacity to maintain and update dashboards
Used short-term external expertise to advance work cost-effectively
The Challenge
Wiley University, a small, private historically Black institution in Marshall, Texas, wanted to make better use of its existing data to support enrollment activities and improve student outcomes.
The university had reliable data but needed a practical way to turn it into visualizations that could be shared across campus. Wiley wanted to:
- Make institutional data easier for employees to access and use
- Create dashboards to support collaborative decision-making
- Strengthen analysis related to enrollment and student outcomes
- Avoid significant recurring technology costs
- Build the dashboards without overextending its small internal staff
The Financial Impact Analysis toolkit provided the resources Wiley needed, but limited staff capacity made implementing the Power BI templates internally difficult.
The Action
Wiley used NACUBO’s Financial Impact Analysis toolkit and short-term external expertise to accelerate development of its Power BI dashboards.
The university:
- Contracted with an outside developer to connect the Power BI templates to Wiley’s data
- Coordinated across business and technology teams to provide secure access to data sources
- Customized dashboard content to match Wiley’s terminology and program structure
- Refined the dashboards based on feedback from front-line employees and end users
- Created a process for regular data updates that internal staff could maintain
- Began using disaggregated student data to identify opportunities for retention support
This approach allowed Wiley to supplement its internal capacity while creating dashboards the university could manage after implementation.
The Results
Immediate Impact
- Accelerated development of Power BI dashboards by supplementing internal staff capacity
- Connected dashboard templates directly to Wiley’s institutional data sources
- Established a mechanism for regular data updates that internal staff can maintain
- Created visualizations that can be shared with employees working directly with students
Process Improvements
- Shifted the focus from building dashboards to using data to inform priorities and practices
- Strengthened collaboration among business, technology, and student-facing teams
- Expanded the use of disaggregated data to identify opportunities for student support
- Created a more cost-effective model for accessing specialized technical expertise
- Increased the use of data to support enrollment and retention efforts
Ongoing Momentum
- Continue refining dashboards based on employee and end-user needs
- Use data to identify opportunities for retention interventions
- Strengthen cross-functional efforts focused on student retention
- Use short-term specialized expertise when needed to accelerate improvement
- Direct resources toward emerging priorities as needs are identified
“We had data for days. That data had been cleaned up and validated. What we were missing was a way to visualize that data that could be shared with the hard-working people at Wiley who are on the front lines of serving our students.”
George StiellSenior Vice President for Business and Finance and CFO
