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Metropolitan Community College – Kansas City

Transforming Enrollment and Student Success with Data at MCCKC

The Situation

Metropolitan Community College – Kansas City (MCCKC) is a comprehensive community college that serves a diverse population of over 13,000 students across five campuses. Offering more than 120 degrees and certificates, MCCKC is committed to providing accessible, high-quality education and training to support the economic and workforce needs of the Kansas City area.

Despite its strong commitment to student success, MCCKC was facing significant challenges with its data management and utilization.

“Our biggest challenge was that we did not have a single source of truth for data,” explains Melissa Giese, Executive Director of Institutional Research and Analytics at MCCKC. “You could get data from Institutional Research. You could get data from queries that were written directly to our Student Information System. People had their own spreadsheets of data. And some instances of shadow databases occurred as well. Then, when people would come to meetings to make decisions, they would bring conflicting data – and that would lead to doubts and delayed decisions.”

Limited access to real-time data further exacerbated the problem. For areas like enrollment, the college primarily relied on basic enrollment reports that lacked the depth needed for thorough analysis and quick response to changing trends. This hindered the institution’s ability to understand the underlying causes of enrollment issues and address them promptly.

With a nationwide decline in enrollment, MCCKC knew that without a clear understanding of the factors driving these trends, it would be extremely challenging to develop effective strategies to improve enrollment and student success. The institution needed a comprehensive solution to consolidate data, provide detailed insights, and support evidence-based decision-making.

“Our biggest challenge was that we did not have a single source of truth for data... when people would come to meetings to make decisions, they would bring conflicting data – and that would lead to doubts and delayed decisions.”
Melissa Giese
Executive Director of Institutional Research and Analytics

The Solution

To address these challenges, MCCKC implemented ZogoTech’s data warehouse and analytics platform. ZogoTech gives end users access to a unified data source that integrates all of MCCKC’s existing information into one consistent platform, eliminating the confusion and delays caused by limited data access, conflicting numbers, and inconsistent data definitions. This integration ensures that everyone has access to accurate and reliable information.

The platform enables MCCKC to analyze enrollment trends among different student groups, such as new students, continuing students, and stop-in students (those who take a semester off). This capability allows the institution to focus on specific areas needing improvement and develop targeted strategies to address these issues.

There are a number of key reasons MCCKC chose ZogoTech:

  • Turn Raw Data Into Action: ZogoTech transforms the raw data from various campus systems into personalized and actionable intelligence. This makes complex data easy for end users to understand and act upon, facilitating informed decision-making.
  • Pre-Built Reports and Dashboards: Ready-to-use tools provided immediate access to valuable insights important to community colleges, enabling MCCKC to quickly get value.
  • Detailed Real-Time Data: Data that was previously hard to obtain is now easily accessible. Users can explore this data independently, identifying trends and developing targeted strategies.
  • Focused Analysis on Specific Student Groups: The ability to analyze enrollment trends among different student populations allows for targeted interventions and improved outreach efforts.
  • Customizable Dashboards and Reports: Users tailor dashboards and reports to meet their specific needs, allowing for more personalized and relevant data insights. This customization helps different departments and stakeholders focus on the metrics that matter most to them.
  • User Training and Support: ZogoTech provides comprehensive training and ongoing support for users, ensuring end users can effectively utilize the platform’s features.

The Benefits

Implementing ZogoTech brought numerous benefits to MCCKC. With a single source of truth, the institution eliminated conflicting data, ensuring that decisions are based on reliable information. This improved trust in the data and accelerated the decision-making process, leading to more data-informed decisions.

“With ZogoTech, we’ve been able to leverage our data as a catalyst for driving enrollment growth. The platform’s real-time data access and detailed analysis tools have transformed how we approach our enrollment strategies,” explains Keith Stiffler, Enrollment Manager at MCCKC. “We can now identify trends and target specific student groups more effectively, allowing us to respond quickly and make informed decisions. This has not only improved our enrollment numbers but also fostered a culture of data-driven decision-making across the campus.”

Real-time data access allows for quicker responses to enrollment challenges and more timely interventions. The college can now monitor and support at-risk students more effectively, leading to better retention and completion rates. By understanding where declines are happening, the college can target its resources more effectively and develop focused strategies to boost enrollment.

Additionally, the user-friendly platform and the ability to explore data independently foster a cultural shift towards evidence-based decision-making. Employees are more engaged and proactive in using data to drive improvements. The key benefits include:

  • Improved Data Consistency and Accuracy: With all data integrated into a single reliable platform, conflicting numbers are eliminated. This ensures that all decisions are based on accurate and consistent information.
  • Faster, Better Decision-Making: Real-time data access allows for quicker responses to enrollment challenges and timely interventions. Decision-makers can act swiftly based on up-to-date information.
  • Enhanced Student Support: The ability to monitor and support at-risk students more effectively leads to improved retention and completion rates. Early identification of issues allows for timely support interventions.
  • Targeted Enrollment Strategies: Detailed analysis of enrollment trends helps identify specific areas and groups needing attention. This enables the college to allocate resources more effectively and develop focused strategies to boost enrollment.
  • Cultural Shift Toward Data-Driven Decisions: The user-friendly platform and self-service data exploration empower employees to take initiative and engage in evidence-based decision-making. This shift fosters a more proactive and informed organizational culture.

ZogoTech empowers Metropolitan Community College – Kansas City to revolutionize its data management, decision-making, and student support processes. By providing a unified platform for real-time data access and analysis, ZogoTech enables MCCKC to make informed decisions, target specific student groups, and respond quickly to enrollment challenges. This partnership fosters a culture of data-driven decision-making, helping MCCKC enhance student success and achieve its educational goals through innovative, evidence-based strategies.