About Academic Dashboards
On February 9, 2021, the Academic Dashboards (data dashboards) 1.0 were released on a limited basis so that deans and department chairs could review and vet their respective data. On May 17, 2021, we released Academic Dashboards 1.1.
Release 1.1 expands access and provides users with access to data for all departments and programs.
When viewing other departments/programs dashboards:
When viewing dashboard information for other departments/programs, please keep in mind:
- Enrollment, demographics, FTEF, and other such data are reported in a manner consistent with the University data book and our IPEDs standards, as appropriate. Declaration and degrees conferred counts include certificates.
- The financial metrics are indicators of financial viability and are only representative of real dollars to a certain extent. Currently, only tuition is factored into the reported revenues. State allocations and overhead beyond the Division of Academic Affairs has not been accounted for.
- Beyond the department level, overhead is distributed via a formula and some limitations of our current accounting system create known issues that have led to a fair, but not always just or equitable, assignment of some expenses to certain (heavy service) departments. While such factors were considered in the recent budget reduction plan, that context is not present in the Academic Dashboards. In future releases (see below), several important improvements to the calculation of overhead/revenue are being explored, including an improved distribution of teaching assistant costs to the courses they serve.
Release 1.1 Updates:
Release 1.1 offers several minor adjustments to the reported values for specific departments/programs. We have also added a few new data visualizations. View a full listing and illustration of modifications.
More generally, this update includes the following:
- College and University averages for course enrollments, declarations, and degrees conferred
- College and University averages for non-instructional FTEF and SCH/FTEF
- Student demographic percentages per category along with University averages
Release 2.0 (coming in the near future):
A more substantial update, Release 2.0, will be published in the near future. Expanding on many of the same data and information as Release 1.1, Release 2.0 is planned to incorporate the following:
- Alignment with the Strategic Budget Process, the next cycle of which begins this fall. This alignment will include displaying the data to be used in that process as well as the evaluative framework for each data set.
- Updated Financial Metrics that include more refined analysis of overhead and revenues, including University revenue from the state allocation (based on student headcount), and overhead expenses outside the Academic Affairs Division.
Specific changes planned, or issues to be addressed for version 2.0 include:
- Financial Metrics
- Teaching Assistantships and tuition waivers will ideally be allocated directly to courses they support
- Inclusion of University revenue from the state allocation (based on student headcount)
- Inclusion of non-academic affairs overhead (that is, overhead expenses tied to services provided by units outside the Division of Academic Affairs)
- Faculty Data - Faculty headcount data will better account for reassignments, partial year sabbaticals and summer teaching assignments
- Dashboard Design - Ability to combine degree programs, particularly those that underwent name changes or other modifications
- Declarations - Ability to filter by degree type on the department dashboard, including filter out certificates
- Program Inventory – For programs that have been closed/suspended, there may be a mismatch between the system office data and our CDS data that we will look to resolve. Currently, the mismatch causes several such programs to show as active when they are not.
Need help or access to the dashboards?
If you believe we should consider other updates or additional information that would be helpful to your department/program, or you are a dean or chairperson and need access to the dashboards, email academicsbudget@mnsu.edu.
- If additional faculty/staff from your department need access, please email academicsbudget@mnsu.edu.
- If faculty/staff are having problems accessing the Academic Dashboards or Power BI, please contact ITS by email or submitting a ticket.
- When contacting ITS, please note in your message that your request is in regard to the “Academic Dashboards”.
