ARMONK, N.Y., July 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM
(NYSE: IBM) announced today that Southern Connecticut State
University (SCSU) has integrated IBM Watson Analytics to help
create new services and programs based on data-driven insights to
improve students' academic achievement and development.
The university used IBM's Watson Analytics Professional to
unearth insights from millions of student data points to help
improve student retention rates and keep them on a path to
graduation. It also adopted the solution as the core of an
innovative new internship program designed to enhance the
University's relationships with local businesses while helping
prepare the students for possible careers in data science.
Watson Analytics is a data analysis and visualization service
that runs on IBM Cloud and empowers people to discover patterns and
meaning in their data quickly and easily. With guided data
discovery, automated predictive analytics and cognitive
capabilities, such as the ability to ask questions in natural
language, people can interact with data conversationally to unearth
insights quickly and in formats they can easily understand.
Like many colleges and universities across the U.S., SCSU was
looking for ways to improve student retention rates. While
financial and personal reasons play a role in early withdrawal from
school, many students also transfer to other schools, take online
courses at other universities, enroll in summer sessions at other
schools, or simply take their sophomore year off completely.
The University turned to Watson Analytics to help develop an
early warning system of student withdrawal from school. In analyses
of the data from a ten-year study, SCSU unearthed a key unexpected
finding: that students' experiences on campus accurately predicted
whether they would stay at the university, graduate from the
university, transfer to a private or another public university,
transfer to a community college, or withdraw from higher
education.
This represented a major shift in mindset at SCSU about research
in higher education, which typically relies on students' incoming
profiles and demographic characteristics – things like ethnicity,
income, SAT scores, etc. – in predictive models of whether students
will be successful.
"When we began integrating Watson Analytics into our cohort
studies, new insights around our data surfaced that we hadn't even
considered," said Dr. Michael
Ben-Avie, Director of the Office of Assessment and Planning
at SCSU. "So we were able to start making decisions that were
informed by data, rather than anecdotes. The shift from data-laden
reports to infographics with visualizations from Watson Analytics
considerably helped in this regard."
SCSU took the insights and began crafting programs based on the
data. One of the most successful initiatives that emerged, so far,
has been SCSU's Academic Success Center, which coordinates tutorial
services, provides study-skill enrichments programs, and offers
academic coaching and structured learning assistance. Since opening
in 2015, the number of visits to tutors has jumped from 500 to
3,000.
Innovative Internship Program
SCSU also built an innovative new internship program around
Watson Analytics that puts the solution in the hands of students
from the University's School of Business and Computer Science
Department who are interested in possible careers in data
science.
The program kicked off in the spring of 2017 and included four
pairs of interns who brought Watson Analytics with them to local
businesses, including the Greater New
Haven Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Water Authority
of South Central Connecticut. With the program, the students worked
to help the businesses improve their performance by mining their
existing data volumes for insights that would lead to data-driven
decisions.
In addition, and in partnership with the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, the
program offers a course that combines computer science, marketing,
and statistics with an internship. With these tools in hand,
students apply Watson Analytics and their own creativity to address
challenging questions from local businesses.
Headed by Dr. Ben-Avie, the program focuses on priority
projects. "We're able to suggest projects, or if a business already
has one in mind, the interns can start working with them right
away," said Dr. Ben-Avie. "They go in and help from the start with
organizing files, constructing comprehensive spreadsheets, pulling
together the raw data."
The interns organize, analyze, and interpret that data using
Watson Analytics. At the conclusion of their internship, they
present their findings and solutions to the local businesses.
The internship program is mutually beneficial. Interns earn
academic credits, gain experience in using cognitive analytics in a
real-world workplace, and receive a badge from IBM that helps them
when searching for a job or applying to graduate school. The
businesses not only receive the work and dedication of the interns,
but also the faculty network supporting them.
"SCSU is a great example of a university using analytical
innovation in innovative ways," said Marc
Altshuller, General Manager, Watson Analytics, IBM. "The
team there, already long-invested in analytical research, had the
foresight to tap into Watson Analytics to build upon its
statistical results even further, and to great effect."
Data analyses also demonstrated that an important predictor of
retention is students' financial literacy. The results of analyses
informed the decision to set up a new office of Financial Literacy
and Advising. In March 2017, SCSU was
notified that it ranked among the top 50 Financial Literacy
Programs in the country. In the letter of congratulation, LendEDU
wrote, "Financial literacy amongst college students is as important
as ever, and your school has become a leader in the field."
[https://lendedu.com/blog/top-50-college-financial-literacy-programs/].
About Southern Connecticut State
University
For more information on SCSU visit
www.southernct.edu.
About IBM Watson Analytics
For more information on IBM
Watson Analytics visit www.ibm.com/watson-analytics.
About IBM Cloud
For more information on IBM Cloud
visit, www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/.
Contact
Mike
Zimmerman
IBM Media Relations
mrzimmerman@us.ibm.com
(585) 698-9974
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SOURCE IBM