Data Governance

Academic institutions are unique in the landscape of American organizations due to the fact that the faculty, administration and board share responsibility for the governance of the institution. This concept, referred to as ‘shared governance’, is not only a distinguishing feature, but core to the culture of academic inquiry.

As we all believe that governance is more effective when informed, it is critical that information relevant to the decision be available to decision makers. As noted by the AAUP’s 1966 Statement on Governance of Colleges and Universities, “Effective planning demands that the broadest possible exchange of information and opinion should be the rule for communication among the components of a college or university.”

The principles of data governance articulated in this document seek to uphold the concept of shared governance while protecting sensitive information from misuse and abuse.

Vision for College Data

Allegheny College will have the infrastructure, support and culture that empower employees to access and use data in everyday interactions & decision making

Mission of Data Governance Committee

Data governance committee oversees the quality, integrity, security and usability of data collected and stored by Allegheny College in accordance with these principles.

  • Quality: the extent to which data reflects reality (accuracy, completeness)
  • Integrity: internal consistency of the data set
  • Compliance: requirements of external entities are met
  • Protection: appropriate access control and storage
  • Usability: ease of analysis and development of actionable insights

Committee membership

The Data Governance Committee reports to the President, and is composed of representatives of each division.

These are:

  • Assoc Provost for Institutional Effectiveness (co-chair) (Academic Affairs)
  • Chief Information Officer (co-chair) (Admin and Finance)
  • Registrar (Academic Affairs)
  • Senior Director of Advancement Operations (Advancement)
  • Director of Enrollment Operations & Communications (Enrollment Management)
  • Director of Human Resources (Admin and Finance)
  • Director of Financial Aid (Enrollment Management)
  • Dean for Student Success (Student Experience)
  • Designee representing Athletics by the Director of Athletics and Recreation  (Athletics)

The Data Governance Working Group is composed of  subject-matter experts (defined below) . Proposals for actions will be circulated to the DGWG by the DGC at least 1 week before the meeting where they are discussed. Individual members of the Data Governance Working Group can attend any meeting, but should attend when their areas of specialization are affected by the proposed changes. 

In cases of urgent deadlines, the DGC can take action directly by consulting subject-matter experts directly, bypassing the broader DGWG.

Reporting Lines and Frequency:

  • Data Governance Committee (DGC) – Committee of the college, monthly minutes archived in DSpace annually.
    • Co-Chaired by Assoc. Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Chief Information Officer
  • Data Governance Working Groups – Monthly, in weeks when DGC is not meeting. 
  • Cabinet and Co-Chairs of DGC – Quarterly

For membership of the DGWG, see list of Data Stewards in RACI table.

Responsibilities for Data Governance Committee

  1. Act as a single point of contact for data requests.
  2. Data sets are accessible, comparable and reusable.
  3. There is an agreed-upon set of definitions that are used across the institution. These definitions drive the ‘semantic layer.’
  4. Establish expectations for responsible data use.
  5. Create and support a culture of responsible data use, including developing resources, documentation, workshops and other opportunities for professional development.
  6. Data sets are stored securely with their metadata and documented lineage, ensuring the quality and integrity of any analysis completed on the basis of the dataset.
  7. Conduct an annual review of all outgoing data reports to verify compliance with any new laws or policies.
  8. Quality, lineage, performance and access are regularly monitored and recorded.
  9. Data structures should be built with an eye towards compliance with privacy laws, including but not limited to FERPA, GDPR and CCPA. Individual users (students, employees) should be able to request all of their data at any time, and be able to request deletion of their data except that which we are legally obliged to retain.

Work Flow: Data Governance Committee initially reviews proposals for workflow and data governance topics for completeness. If approved, they are sent to the DGWG at least 1 week before the scheduled meeting where they are discussed.  

The DGWG approves proposals to begin work within the proposed time frame. The proposer become the accountable party for that project.  The DGC will identify subject matter experts on the DGWG who should be involved in the conversation regarding the proposal.

It is the responsibility of the DGC to monitor progress and inform the DGWG as needed.