Universities rich in data, struggle to capture its value
UCLA–MIT Press research finds pervasive lack of data infrastructure, strategy in U.S. higher ed
Researchers at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies and the MIT Press published “Data blind: Universities lag in capturing and exploiting data,” Thursday, December 22, 2022, in the journal Science.
Co-authored by Christine L. Borgman, distinguished research professor at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies, and, Amy Brand, director and publisher of the MIT Press, the study explores the complex challenges universities face in the capture and use of data, and argues that most universities lag behind industry, business, and government when it comes to leveraging data for strategic decision-making and planning.
“This new research shines a bright light on the ways in which universities are data rich and data poor — and sometimes intentionally data blind,” said Christine L. Borgman, distinguished research professor at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies and one of the study’s authors. “They are struggling to capture and exploit the true value of their data resources and reluctant to initiate the conversations necessary to build consensus for data governance.”
A summary of the research article is available online on the UCLA Newsroom website at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/universities-struggle-to-leverage-data.
The research article is published on the Science website and available here