University of Central Florida uses SAS® for accurate, timely decision making

Data analysis maximizes resources, increases responsiveness to students

NEW ORLEANS  (Oct. 29, 2007)  –  Where do University of Central Florida students come from? How are students doing in particular programs? Is faculty overworked? UCF chose technology from SAS, the leader in business intelligence, to answer such questions from a single information source. Now, university administrators have more accurate – and quicker – access to data to better serve students. 

One of the fastest-growing and largest public universities, UCF has nearly doubled enrollment in 10 years to 46,000. Also growing is the challenge to marshal resources effectively. UCF uses SAS^® business intelligence and data integration software to let data drive decisions about students, programs, resources and facilities. 

“We use the information in various ways, from promoting UCF to answering questions from organizations that rank universities in different areas,” said Dr. Paige Borden, UCF’s Director of Institutional Research and University Data Administrator. 

For instance, the admissions office studies where students apply from and what percent enroll to allocate marketing dollars wisely. The academic affairs department uses analysis to offer the right mix of classes so students graduate on time. Department heads seek to balance faculty workloads, and everyone wants to identify and assist at-risk students before they drop out. 

Before SAS, data resided in multiple sources, from legacy systems to the current ERP system. Borden’s staff took from days to weeks to provide information. They couldn’t look at multiple years simultaneously, making trend-spotting difficult. “Looking from year to year, we didn’t see the changes occurring across multiple years,” Borden says. Also, business users couldn’t do their own analyses. “Our deans couldn’t sit at their desks and drill down into the data.”

With SAS, that’s changing. “Now it takes a day at most, maybe even a few hours, to run a custom report. And business users can run simple reports in 30 or 45 seconds. Internal users can transfer the data to other software products, continue to manipulate the information as needed and prepare an end report using whatever methodology they need. They don’t necessarily need to call us,” Borden says.

With more than 2,000 college, university and business-school customers in 109 countries and education specialists on every continent, SAS serves the education industry by delivering software solutions, strategic services and academic programs that spark innovation and expand educational opportunities.

“By partnering with SAS we have been able to answer multiple questions, answer them in a timely manner and increase the accuracy of the data,” Borden says.

Dr. Borden and Linda Sullivan, UCF Associate Director of Institutional Research, will present the session “Teaching Old Data to Perform New Strategic Tricks” at AACRAO-SEM XVII, where the announcement was made today. 

About UCF

The University of Central Florida is a public, multi-campus, metropolitan research university, dedicated to serving its surrounding communities with their diverse and expanding populations, technological corridors, and international partners. The mission of the university is to offer high-quality undergraduate and graduate education, student development and continuing education; to conduct research and creative activities; and to provide services that enhance the intellectual, cultural, environmental and economic development of the metropolitan region, address national and international issues in key areas, establish UCF as a major presence, and contribute to the global community.

About SAS

Back to Recent SAS Press Releases

Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All Rights Reserved.