Welcome to Data Fellows

The Data Fellows program aims to foster a culture of ownership of data and solutions that drive change at the university and college levels. Under the leadership of the Vice Provost for Academic Planning, Data Fellows are composed of teams from each college and unit who work together to become experts on institutional data and to develop projects that positively impact student success across the university. 

Group of Data Fellows in a meeting

Data Fellows are composed of “hub” teams from each college and unit. A team typically includes an associate dean, faculty member(s) and/or department chair(s), and advisor(s) and/or staff member(s). Fellows are selected by colleges and units as representatives to inform ongoing data integration at the college and unit levels.

Purpose of the Data Fellows Program:

  1. Foster a culture of ownership of data and solutions that drive change at the university and college levels.
  2. Empower Data Fellows to access institutional data and to cultivate a broader understanding and application of available data in their Data Action Groups within colleges and units.
  3. Positively impact student success across the university.
  4. Deepen shared understanding of institutional questions.
  5. Facilitate interactions across Data Fellows Team (not just within) so that team members can leverage skills and experiences to address both unit-specific and university-level questions

Institutional Questions Guiding Campus-Wide Inquiry:

  1. What can we do to understand and increase CSULB’s 4-year FTF and 2-year Transfer graduation rates in the context of best practices and policies at the national and state level?
  2. What accounts for the persistent opportunity gaps and how can we eliminate those gaps?
  3. How can we better understand attrition on the degree progress pathway, especially in Years 1 and 2? Who leaves? When and why?
  4. How do we expand our definitions of student success beyond graduation rates?
  5. How can we optimize course placement for freshmen in a way that maximizes success?
  6. How can we optimize admissions while improving student success?
  7. How can we better understand the paths students take after initial entry to CSULB? What are the patterns of major switching and migration in and out of colleges and how do they relate to time to degree?