Chattanooga State Community College (ChSCC), located in the scenic city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is dedicated to academic excellence and student success. Serving over 10,000 students, ChSCC offers a diverse array of programs, including associate degrees, technical certificates, and workforce development programs, catering to the needs of its community. As a leading institution in the region, ChSCC consistently provides a supportive and enriching environment for its student population, emphasizing student outcomes and community engagement.
Prior to 2015, Chattanooga State faced significant challenges with student retention and completion rates. With a state-wide focus on student financial aid, co-requisite remediation, an institutional SIP grant, and network membership benefits with Achieving the Dream, great strides were made until the fall 2020 semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its focus on becoming a student-ready college through this period, the institution’s data systems were fragmented, with each department maintaining its own definitions and data collections, leading to inconsistencies and inaccuracies. This decentralization made it challenging to consolidate information for strategic decision-making and the evaluation of the effectiveness of student-centered strategies. Additionally, varying degrees of data literacy among staff highlighted the need for enhanced data-driven practices to improve student retention and completion rates.
“It became obvious that making data accessible and actionable across the college was critical to supporting our mission of student success,” said Dr. Rebecca Ashford, President of Chattanooga State Community College.
In response to these challenges, Chattanooga State embarked on a transformative journey to become a data-informed institution. Recognizing the critical need for accurate, accessible data to drive decision-making, the college capitalized on its foundational data work to partner with ZogoTech, a leader in data analytics for higher education.
“We partnered with ZogoTech because of their long-standing expertise in higher education and their proven track record with the systems we rely on,” emphasized Dr. Traci Williams, Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, & Planning. “Their ability to deliver prebuilt reports, dashboards, and metrics instilled confidence in their capacity to meet our needs from day one.”
With ZogoTech now as its central hub, Chattanooga State credits a four-phase journey to enhance its data infrastructure and improve student outcomes.
Phase 1: Formation of Data Team
The first step in Chattanooga State’s transformation was the formation of a cross-campus Data Team, comprised of members from various departments. This team underwent extensive training and mentoring to ensure all members were comfortable with data and could effectively contribute to the college’s data initiatives. One of their primary tasks was to develop a unified Data Dictionary, which standardized the language and definitions used across the institution. This foundational work was critical in creating a common understanding of data terms and ensuring consistency in data usage.
Phase 2: Student Success Scorecard and Dashboards
Building on the groundwork laid by the Data Team, the college moved to Phase 2, which involved creating and disseminating a Student Success Scorecard. This scorecard provided a comprehensive overview of key performance indicators related to student success. Additionally, the development of interactive dashboards using PowerBI enabled faculty and staff to access real-time data and gain insights into various aspects of student performance. Adding Early Momentum Metrics (EMM) to the Data Dictionary further enhanced the college’s ability to track and analyze important indicators of student progress.
Phase 3: Campus-Wide Data Summits and Workshops
To further embed a culture of data utilization, the Data Team hosted a campus-wide Data Summit. This event demonstrated how different campus groups could use data to inform their decision-making processes. Following the summit, academic deans and representatives from Institutional Research conducted workshops to familiarize faculty with data utilization. These workshops focused on helping faculty evaluate course success rates, identify equity gaps, and apply data insights to improve teaching and learning outcomes. The eventual integration of ZogoTech as the student success data warehouse, undergirded by the foundational work in the phases, has played a crucial role in streamlining these efforts.
Phase 4: Future Plans
Looking ahead, Chattanooga State remains committed to continuous improvement through data-driven strategies. The college plans to build on its successes by further refining its data infrastructure and expanding its use of data analytics to include the analysis of post-graduation outcomes. This ongoing commitment to data-informed decision-making will ensure the institution continues to enhance student outcomes and achieve its strategic goals.
“Working with ZogoTech has been a game-changer for Chattanooga State,” noted Dr. Williams. “Their platform has not only revolutionized our data management but also empowered our entire campus to make informed, data-driven decisions. This collaboration has significantly enhanced our ability to support student success and foster a true data democracy.”
The transformation to a data-informed institution has led to an increase in retention rates and completion rates for the top 20 enrolled classes. The percentage of students earning zero credits in their first semester has been significantly reduced, and course success rates have improved. Additionally, the number of course withdrawals has decreased, indicating that students are more engaged and successful in their studies.
Just as powerful, there is now a widespread culture of data literacy and comfort among staff. Data-driven discussions have become a regular part of meetings, and decision-making processes are more informed and effective. The normalization of data use has empowered end users to leverage data in meaningful ways, aligning their efforts with the institution’s goals and improving student support services.
“Most of what I need to do in ZogoTech can be done in seconds or minutes. Without ZogoTech, some of these same tasks would require going through my programmer and could take hours or days,” shared Dr. Williams.
All of these student success efforts helped the college achieve Leader College of Distinction recognition by Achieving the Dream.
“ZogoTech has been an exceptional partner, providing us with the tools and support needed to become a truly data-informed institution,” praised President Ashford. “Their expertise in data analytics and deep understanding of the challenges faced by community colleges have been invaluable. The comprehensive solutions and user-friendly platforms they offer have empowered our faculty and staff to make informed decisions, ultimately enhancing student success and institutional effectiveness. We are grateful for their unwavering support and collaboration throughout this transformative journey.”
