Anglia Ruskin University has pioneered a new generation of analytics on student data information in the Higher Education sector. Founded in 1858, the university has a student population of more than 35,000 and is one of the largest universities in the East of England, with its main campuses at Cambridge and Chelmsford. In addition to attracting students from Europe and the rest of the world, the university has an extensive network of contacts with institutions throughout the world, delivering courses in countries as far removed as Malaysia and Trinidad.
The Challenges
Student data is required by staff, including Deans of Faculties, Academic Department Heads, Programme Leaders and the Corporate Management Team, to make accurate decisions. Historically, this information was requested through a number of support services as there was no easy or uniform method, for users to access and analyse this data. Often, the information was not requested or delivered correctly; or the data prompted more questions and the request-delivery-request cycle would continue.
Frequent bottlenecks were created when the volume of queries escalated, creating delays. In addition, various departments often used different versions of the same data, creating confusion when meeting and measuring corporate targets. Data volumes also became an issue, especially when spreadsheets were used for analysis. There was no accurate single repository of data, that all users across the university could interrogate in a user friendly way.
The Solution – Simplicity
On the first day Qlik was installed at the university, Mike Frost, Assistant Director of Finance, built a student data application without having had any previous Qlik experience. Over the next month, Mike, developed and enhanced this model into a final application ready for deployment. The Qlik student data model contains three years of weekly registration and applications data, with over 9 million records (half a billion field values in total) and has been deployed to over 100 users.
The deployment platform chosen by Anglia Ruskin University ensured high performance when working with large data sets. The model is accessed by users via a browser. Users were given a two hour training session in order to introduce them to the Student Registration and Applications model. The model is presented in dashboard environment, with the option to drill down to the lowest level of individual student record detail. User interaction with Qlik is by mouse click, there are no keystrokes to remember and no reporting jargon. Users click through the model, choosing the fields they want to select and viewing the results a split second later.
The Benefits
Qlik’s patented in-memory-based analysis tool has created a revolution in traditional Business Intelligence. Instead of creating databases for detailed analysis and combing through them using online analytical processing (OLAP), Qlik loads all the data into the main memory from the start. All calculations and logical links are then carried out in the main memory. This means that new applications can be developed and enhanced very quickly. Users also experience split second response times for queries and analysis. New questions can be altered at any time by adding new dimensions or benchmarks.
Mike Frost, the thought leader and project manager behind the Qlik implementation has significant experience with other Business Intelligence products. He comments, “No other BI product could be configured in the one month it took to develop the student data application. It enables analysis capabilities that are unthinkable in traditional technologies – along with unparalleled flexibility, performance, and simplicity. Qlik has improved our decision makers’ business efficiency by providing them with an easy to use analysis tool which is capable of reporting in both graphical and tabular formats.”
The Applications
Student Recruitment and Student Fundability are areas where Qlik has had a large impact. “Our new model has allowed us a better understanding of student recruitment patterns both in the UK and abroad” says Mike. “We can now analyse and predict the success of our student recruitment programmes; Qlik will help us develop programmes that are attractive to current and future students. Qlik allows us to see and interrogate student registration and application information in a graphical environment, which includes a geographical representation to UK postcode level.”
Anglia Ruskin has also embedded the KPI’s of their Corporate Plan into their student data application.
The data can be viewed by an unlimited number of dimensions including – Faculty, Department, Course, Funding Source, Mode of Study, Ethnicity, Domicile, Home Post code and many more. Users are able to filter these dimensions and act on the information independently. BME Solutions (now Ometis), an Elite Qlik partner that specialises in the Higher Education sector introduced Qlik to the university. Ometis have assisted Anglia Ruskin with Qlik implementation and support services.
Mike Frost has developed additional Qlik models for future deployment which relate to Human Resources, Financial Analysis and Space Management analysis.
Empowering users
Qlik didn’t just answer the university’s standard questions, it allowed people to ask questions they hadn’t thought to ask before – and it’s changing the way they work. Users were reliant for their information needs on a number of disparate support services. As a result of working with Qlik, Anglia Ruskin’s staff are more knowledgeable. “We are asking them to be more informed users –
to take responsibility for owning and understanding the data,” says Mike.
“Qlik has allowed us to deploy a common BI platform, where a single version-of-the-truth can be shared and accessed communally. It was easy to combine different data sources from SITS, Agresso, Microsoft Excel and text files in an information-rich decision-making environment that could reach all levels in the
organisation”.
Support service departments’ role has changed from one of providing reports, to providing people with the easily-navigable Qlik information environment they need to make informed decisions. “Users are now able to use Qlik to fetch the data for themselves” says Mike. “This has excited our community and we have had nothing but strong positive feedback.”
The future
Based on the success of the Student Data application, Anglia Ruskin University has adopted Qlik as their reporting tool of the future, with plans to triple the current user base in the next year.