Introduction

To enhance our reporting and data analytics capabilities and to enable informed decision-making, Virginia Tech is actively evolving our ability to manage, maintain, and fully utilize institutional data. In furtherance of this objective, the University Data Governance Council (UDGC) was established in August of 2020.  For the 2021-2022 academic year, the UDGC has designated three working groups to focus on the following data governance topics:

  1. Data Access, Risk, and Compliance
  2. Metadata and Data Dictionary
  3. Data Literacy, Training, and Tools

News

The second academic year of the UDGC’s work has concluded and the Annual Report for the 2021-2022 academic year is available here.   Comments, ideas and input from the University community are welcome.

Deliverables from 2020-2021

  1. A data access request flowchart and list of questions were developed to enable requests for to certain datasets for university reporting purposes.
  2. Data Trustee and Data Steward role expectations were proposed to promote consistency across data domains.
  3. Continued development of an internally developed, VT-specific training module for foundational and specialized data literacy and analytics tools.
  4. Created a database of free training resources on topics including data literacy, data-informed decision-making, and effective presentation techniques.
  5. Completed an inventory and analysis of data dictionary platforms commonly used in higher ed and proposed next steps.

This progress report and deliverables were submitted to the sponsors of UDGC, Cyril Clarke, Executive Vice President & Provost, and Chris Kiwus, Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer. The UDGC welcomes input, comment, ideas, and suggestions from the university community on this report and all other activities of the Council. Please contact udgc-chairs-g@vt.edu to provide input.

For more information about UDGC activities and outcomes of the 2020-2021 academic year, see the VT Daily News article dated September 17, 2021

News

The first academic year of the UDGC’s work has concluded with a number of completed projects and some which will be ongoing. A Progress Report for the 2020-2021 academic year is available here.   Comments, ideas and input from the University community are welcome.

Deliverables from 2020-2021

  1. An inventory of existing VT policies that relate to data and a gap analysis of where policy or standards are lacking,
  2. A simplified, streamlined version of the 17-page Administrative Data Management Standard; focusing on administrative data domains, trustees, and stewards. This is published at https://it.vt.edu/resources/policies/adms.html and is designed to clarify who to contact for which types of data,
  3. A survey of VT data stewards that was used to create an inventory of data, its source of record, and current practices.  This resulted in systems of record data from over 20 administrative areas and departments, currently available for review by request (available for access by request only as it contains sensitive information about data systems).  This data collection and inventory is ongoing and we encourage data stewards throughout Virginia Tech to participate. Please contact udgc-chairs-g@vt.edu to request access or to learn more.
  4. An inventory of existing metadata practices and data dictionaries that was used to develop a summary of existing practices at VT as well as recommended next steps
  5. A survey of departmental IT managers and others, resulting in a list of data analytics tools currently in use, as well as a summary of related training needs and recommended next steps
  6. A draft of a “Guide to Data Protection for Data Trustees and Stewards” that codifies consistent data access requirements and request processes and identifies needs for new or modified policies, standards and guidelines.  This is currently a draft and would benefit greatly from input from university data trustees, stewards, and data users. Please view the Google doc here, and provide comments or edits as desired.

This progress report and deliverables was submitted to the sponsors of UDGC, Cyril Clarke, Executive Vice President & Provost, and Dwayne Pinkney, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer.  The UDGC welcomes input, comment, ideas, and suggestions from the University community on this report and all other activities of the Council.  Please contact udgc-chairs-g@vt.edu to provide input.

UDGC reporting structure