by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College was recently recognized for excellence in data quality by the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) – a recognition that would not have happen if not for two KCKCC staff members with a commitment to provide accurate and timely data.
Shazia Siddiqua and Chris Day, both research analysts in the Institutional Effectiveness Department, received the KBOR Data Quality Award in June. The award is presented each year to recognize institutions for excellence in data quality along with support of KBOR Board objectives, including longitudinal research.
The award is given based on mandatory Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and KBOR data reports. Federal and state reports are mandatory for every educational institution in order to receive federal and state funding. In addition, institutions are penalized if they fail to provide this mandatory data in a timely manner, and funding can be revoked completely if reports are not received.
One of the major job responsibilities of the Institutional Effectiveness staff is to prepare and provide data for these mandatory reports in a timely and accurate manner.
“I feel very honored and happy for this great accomplishment. KCKCC is the recipient of this award twice now, as we won it back in 2013 as well,” Siddiqua said. “I do my best to provide the highest levels of accuracy and reliable data in a timely manner. This gives me a sense of self satisfaction and in turn it gives us an opportunity to win this and other awards/for our institution. KCKCC has received several thank you notes from IPEDS throughout the years for submitting accurate data way ahead of time of their due dates. I am thankful to all my fellow coworkers for their hard work and the support they provided to help us achieve this prestigious award.”
Day said in the minutes leading up to the award presentation, he thought KCKCC might have a chance to repeat as winners. He said the college is always near the top, so it was exciting to win the award again in recognition of the hard work the department puts in each and every day.
“All of the hard work year after year to ensure we provide high quality data makes me feel like we should win the award every year,” he said. “I am so happy for KCKCC to part of this tremendous award.”
Each year institutions are assigned ratings for each criteria by using the following process:
• Data review issues are logged throughout the year and examined prior to award deliberation
• Prior year issues are reviewed to determine improvements made
• Submission dates, including IPEDS, are reviewed for timeliness
• Security standards are reviewed
• Points for secondary criteria are assigned
• Input is sought on close contenders
Primary criteria for award includes quality of data submitted, timeliness of data submissions and improvement in quality of data submitted. Bonus points are also given for support for research, support of other board objectives and support of colleagues and staff leadership among peers.
“Accurate data is essential for data-driven decision making. Relying on complete and accurate data helps and promotes data driven culture,” Siddiqua said. “It impacts on all areas and departments not only internally but all the external stake holders. It is very important to gain credibility and trust of your students, fellow employees and all other public and private entities to build a better professional relationship.”
Day and Siddiqua said the data institutions provide is utilized on several public websites, reflecting KCKCC’s image to all students, parents and all government bodies related to higher education.
“KCKCC was honored with this award due to the IE staff’s continuous high level of dedication to work, persistence, consistency, being detail-oriented and very self-motivated along with the support of other staff members at KCKCC,” they said. “IE submits more than 30 Federal (IPEDS) and State (KBOR) reports annually. We work throughout the year very diligently to meet all the deadlines and to provide data with accuracy. It is a team effort, and the credit goes to all who are responsible for data entry, data clean up, data extraction, data formatting, data analysis and reporting.”