Postsecondary data system privacy and funding focus of new Strong Foundations report

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In a new report, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) examines the ongoing efforts and challenges states have in safeguarding and sustaining their postsecondary student unit record systems (PSURSs). PSURSs are the primary means for states to collect data and analyze student progress, completions, and outcomes. 

For more than 50 years, state higher education agencies have used PSURSs to inform policy and decision-making. In a survey to its members, SHEEO asked state higher education agencies about their PSURSs – survey responses and analysis are outlined in a Strong Foundations report and subsequent dashboards on the postsecondarydata.sheeo.org website. To understand the influence of changing data governance and funding realities, in Strong Foundations 2023, SHEEO extended its examination into data privacy and security standards. 

SHEEO’s new report State Postsecondary Data: How Data Governance and Funding Influence Innovation and Sustainability, shows a continued commitment to protecting the security and privacy of PSURSs data, with all state agencies following established federal and state data handling standards. State agencies are also adhering to established internal data policies to reduce the risk of data loss and privacy violations. They continue to have data breach protocols in place or comply with overarching state protocols. Recognizing robust protocols and infrastructures alone is not enough, state agencies are taking additional steps. They provide training to staff to ensure the appropriate use of data and PII; are building upon data governance councils to ensure data security and privacy standards are in place; and are creating Chief Data Privacy officer positions. 

Looking toward the future, state agencies have a slate of planned technology priorities to improve PSURSs’ impacts and processes and to reduce risk to those systems. They reported the need to hire new staff or leverage current personnel to help improve capacity, governance, and use of their PSURSs in response to increasing demands by state stakeholders for targeted, real-time, and consumable data reporting.

“Universally, state agencies emphasized the need for further investment in their PSURSs to stay economically competitive and to meet state objectives,” said Carrie Klein, Associate Vice President at SHEEO. “As states seek to improve student outcomes and state goals, they need more support of PSURS infrastructure, data, and personnel.”

Find more information about data and privacy efforts around student postsecondary data systems in this new report here. 

A revamped website with new dashboards has been developed to help SHEEO members understand the full survey results from the Strong Foundations 2023 report. Visit https://postsecondarydata.sheeo.org/data/ to explore or download the data.

New Strong Foundations report and dashboards highlight state higher education data systems’ enduring value

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For more than 50 years, state higher education agencies have used postsecondary student unit record systems (PSURSs) to inform policy and decision-making. Postsecondary student unit record systems are the primary means for states to collect data and analyze student progress, completions, and outcomes. In a survey to its members, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) asked state higher education agencies about their PSURSs, including the types of data they are collecting, their connections to other state agency data systems and state longitudinal data systems (SLDSs), and the value of those data to inform and improve state goals and student outcomes. The survey responses and analysis are outlined in a new Strong Foundations report and subsequent dashboards on the postsecondarydata.sheeo.org website.

In Strong Foundations 2023, SHEEO asked which state partner agencies their PSURSs data are linked to or shared with and what barriers and incentives exist related to that linking and sharing. As with prior years, state agencies reported a diversity of approaches to housing and sharing their postsecondary data. State agencies are collecting a variety of data elements from a variety of institutional types.

As expected, PSURSs connections with K-12 and workforce agency data systems are among the most reported connections; yet there are growing connections with other state agencies, including health and human services, foster care, and corrections agencies. The most reported barriers to efficient data sharing between agencies include data privacy concerns, coordination with other state authorities and administrators, lack of time for agency staff to link and analyze shared data, a lack of common identifiers and crosswalks, and a lack of fiscal resources. 

Forty-seven state agencies access workforce data elements, with the most common data elements collected including wages earned and employment year. Likewise, 44 state agencies access K-12 data elements, with district/school code, student race/ethnicity, and graduation date being the most common data elements. 

“State postsecondary data systems are vital for policymakers and researchers within state higher education agencies,” said Carrie Klein, associate vice president at SHEEO. “Results from our survey illustrate the deep value state agencies find in their PSURSs. As these systems and their connections continue to evolve and grow, agencies are identifying opportunities for improved insight into and support of student realities and outcomes.”

SHEEO also asked about data disaggregation and the collection of data elements, beyond traditional demographic data (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, and age), tied to access, opportunity, and success efforts. Results indicate that state agencies continue to employ PSURS data to gain greater insight into and support of their diverse student populations and that they are increasingly disaggregating race, ethnicity, and gender data beyond Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) categories. 

Among the new data elements SHEEO included for reporting this year are tribal affiliation, student parent/caregiver status, foster care status, refugee status, justice system involvement, and other data elements about historically underrepresented groups in higher education. 

A revamped website with new dashboards has been developed to help SHEEO members understand the survey results. Find the Strong Foundations 2023 report here, and visit https://postsecondarydata.sheeo.org/data/ to explore or download the data.