Return on investment in higher education retention

Systematic focus on actionable information from data analytics

Abstract

This article describes the human and technical infrastructure analytics capabilities that have evolved at a university in Western Australia, which have been applied to curriculum and learning data with a focus on the return on investment (ROI) of improving retention. The ROI approach has been used to highlight the benefits of further inquiry and action by decision-makers from the classroom level to school and faculty levels. The article will briefly describe the capability developed and methods underpinning continuous on-demand production of analyses and insights aimed to stimulate inquiry and action to improve retention.