Recently, I interviewed four higher education customers to hear firsthand how each is using analytics in real life (IRL). In this blog series, we will learn how educators are using analytics, why they chose SAS, and the impact it has had on their users and their institutions. In addition, they will share best practices for analytics and tips for gaining buy-in for reporting and analytics projects.

I want to thank each of the following wonderful customers for taking the time to chat with me and sharing their insights on these topics.

• Gina Huff, Senior Applications Programmer Analyst at Western Kentucky University
• Karl Konsdorf, Acting Director, Research, Analytics and Reporting at Sinclair Community College
• Dan Miller, Director for Business Intelligence for the North Carolina Community College System
• Sivakumar Jaganathan, Executive Director, Data Warehouse and Business Analytics for the University of Connecticut

In this first post of the blog series, let’s start with learning how each is using SAS and why they chose SAS.

Western Kentucky University uses SAS for institutional reporting, decision support, strategic planning – and to make students more successful. Watch the video below to learn more:

Sinclair Community College uses SAS for course completion rates, classroom efficiency, measuring student outcomes – and more. Watch the video below to find out how:

NC Community Colleges uses SAS to roll out performance measures and provide a peer-to-peer comparison between colleges. Watch the video to hear why users are consuming and relying on this data:

The University of Connecticut uses SAS to help transform the organization and provide administrators with data visualizations they can use to make decisions. Watch the video to learn why they chose SAS:

Interested in learning more? In several of my previous blog posts, I've shared how education customers are embracing data visualization to run their business. In one post, I featured several customer presentations on data visualization. In another, I announced seven publicly available customer websites in which you can see visual dashboards in action, at your fingertips. In addition, I shared a whitepaper that gives even more insights into how higher education is modernizing its approach to decision-making. The paper features eight customers on how they are using analytics.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about how education customers use analytics in real life. Please feel free to share this post and these videos with your colleagues and friends. Also, stay tuned as there will be more to come.