Based on this information, you may decide online registration is a valid option. Students would be provided with 24/7 access to scheduling their courses, reviewing their financial aid and making online payments. You could also reduce time in staff work flow associated with registration.

Not a 'quick fix'. Having a Business intelligence system can provide significant benefits over the medium to long-run timeframe. Building an effective system, however, is not as easy as purchasing a piece of software or a new server. Depending on your current situation, it can take from a few months to a year or more to fully implement. It's a complex process and some of the considerations are outlined below.

Consolidation versus Integration. If you are operating with several different software systems, you may have been told ‘We need to consolidate our data.” which may or may not be true. You can integrate without consolidating. Just what does that mean?

Data consolidation is when you put all your information in to one repository. This is helpful, but by itself doesn’t get you to where you want to be with a Business Intelligence system. For instance, if you are running four main software programs (e.g. one for financial aid, one or student accounts, one for student records and one for admissions), pulling all your data in to one place will give you four student records on every student. If the student is in the admissions program multiple times, you will have even more! It also doesn’t relate the records to each other.

Integrating your data means that the records are connected and the relationships are clear. This eliminates the confusion (and potential error) in processing information from one program to another. It also dramatically increases the accuracy and ease of reporting.

Start with Building an Enhanced Database. Research indicates you need to start with a ‘clean’ and enhanced database. Incomplete, inaccurate and/or duplicate data makes sound decision-making difficult, if not impossible. If you are working with a database now with these issues, you know how frustrating it can be when you have three reports in front of you and all of them show different information! Mapping all data relationships into an integrated dataset provides the backbone on which to build your business intelligence system.

Cleaning and Training. To ensure the most accurate and dependable data is available, data cleansing will need to be accomplished. Data cleansing (data integrity and duplicate records) is an issue with most organizations. No matter how well designed your technology system is, it is still dependent on users to provide accurate and appropriate data. This is where the saying ‘garbage in, garbage out’ takes effect. Training employees on the importance of entering the appropriate information accurately cannot be overly emphasized. Unfortunately, this is also where most organizations spend the least amount of time and effort.

Internal or Outsource? Relationship mapping, data cleansing and employee training are extremely time-consuming activities. Handling a project of this magnitude internally can be accomplished, but creates a dramatic and measurable ‘drain’ on internal resources. Organizations will need to consider what other tasks and initiatives they are willing to postpone while creating their BI system and, if they have the appropriate skill-sets on staff. Outsourcing is an alternative that may make the most sense depending on your situation. Oursourcing eliminates the strain and disruption on your staff and day-to-day activities.

Is it Worth It? Yes! The benefits are significant and the time and effort are absolutely worth it. However, it's time-consuming. Increasing your institutional effectiveness, efficiency and decision-making ability are crucial to your long-term stability and competitiveness.

Help is Available! One of the reasons Integrated Enrollment Solutions began was the need to assist colleges to effectively manage their data to provide accurate reporting and process management as well as to personalize interactions with students. We are committed to designing systems that maximize institutional resources, and provide flexible information gathering options. And as always, all of our solutions are completely customized. Contact us today!