"Using Technology to Build Connections"

Using Big Data Analysis to Guide Student-Facing Support

March 24, 4:00 pm

Picture of students in Wait Chapel for the Career Orientation from 2018.

In higher education, data increasingly plays a major role in decision making.  Over the past three years, the Wake Forest Career Team has realized the need for data to support their work and delivery of programs and services to students.

Working with several departments (Information Systems, Registrar’s Office, Institutional Research, Advancement, School of Business, Financial Aid), the newly formed “data team” for the WFU Career Team developed PowerBI dashboards to support this need for information, and during this presentation we will discuss our latest one, The Student Scorecard Dashboard.

This dashboard integrates multiple data sources: the University Banner system, Handshake (career services platform), Mail Chimp, and career coaching data housed in Google Sheets.  The Student Scorecard Dashboard is used to analyze student behavior and performance in the job/internship search, event attendance, and application process.  It compares student behavior against students from the past five graduating classes and against others in their own current class.  Career coaches are able to use this data to create individualized career search plans for each student, and leadership leverages this analysis to anticipate new strategies and resources to assist students.  The Student Scorecard Dashboard includes undergraduate students in the College and the School of Business, as well as graduate students in the School of Business.  During this presentation, we will discuss how The Student Scorecard Dashboard was created and demo its capabilities.

Presenter Information

Photo of Mallory Allred

Mallory Allred

Assistant Director, Employer Relations Office of Personal Career & Development

Mallory Allred has been with the Employer Relations team since 2016 and has transitioned from serving as the On-Campus Interview Coordinator to an Assistant Director who works primarily with data modeling and analysis. She is also a part of a university-wide initiative on data analytics and visualization. Mallory is a member of the SoACE (Southern Association of Colleges and Employers) Technology Knowledge Group and the Assessment and Data Analytics Knowledge Group. Prior to working with the team, Mallory graduated from Wake Forest University with a bachelors degrees in History and Art History, she is completing her Master of Liberal Students at WFU in the Spring of 2021.

Photo of Ashley Phipps

Ashley Graham Phipps

Associate Director, Data Analytics, Employer Relations Office of Personal Career & Development

Ashley Graham Phipps serves as Associate Director, Data Analytics within the Employer Relations team at Wake Forest University. This role was developed through the data process that the university engaged in over the past three years. In this role, she manages technology and data for the WFU College to Career team. She oversees the relationship and interface between the WFU campus and Handshake, the career opportunity management platform. She is also a part of a university-wide initiative on data analytics and visualization. In addition, Ashley administers the Wake Forest University Kirby Fund to increase access for all students to career opportunities and equity. Ashley currently serves as Chair of the SoACE (Southern Association of Colleges and Employers) Technology Knowledge Group, which serves members who design, implement, coordinate, update, and/or facilitate technological support for programs, social media and services. Her past roles for the Technology Knowledge Group have included Emerging Technology Coordinator and Assistant Chair. She is also a member of the Assessment and Data Analytics Knowledge Group. Ashley has also served on the conference proposal selection committee three times to select proposals pertaining to technology and data analytics. A Double Deacon, Ashley has her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Management degrees from Wake Forest University.

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