From Data to Impact: Aligning Financial Strategy and Analytics to Support Student Success

Lindsay Wayt - NACUBO
Kelli Rainey - NACUBO

In an era of financial constraints and growing demands for improved student outcomes, higher education institutions must better align their financial strategies with student success goals. This session explores how to use two free resources—the NACUBO Student Success Hub and the Change with Analytics Playbook—to help colleges and universities operationalize student-centered financial practices and foster a culture of data-informed decision-making.

Attendees will learn how to identify common institutional performance gaps, including siloed data practices, limited data literacy, and weak collaboration across roles, and apply practical tools to address these challenges. The session includes a live walk-through of a customizable IPEDS dashboard and a featured institutional example that demonstrates effective data stewardship, governance, and cross-functional collaboration.

To further support institutional teams in examining their own data roles and responsibilities, the session incorporates an improv activity designed to help participants reflect on how stewardship and collaboration affect data-informed decision-making. Hands-on goal-setting and planning exercises will guide attendees in applying select "plays" and "toolkits" from the featured resources to their own campus contexts.

Interactive elements such as polling, activities, and worksheets will keep participants engaged and ensure they leave with actionable insights to advance both financial sustainability and student success.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify common institutional barriers to effective data use and collaboration across departments.
  2. Demonstrate how financial and analytics strategies can work together to improve student success outcomes.
  3. Apply tools and frameworks from two national resources to create a more integrated, data-informed institutional culture.

CPE Available

  • 1 Credit: Management Services