Turning Knowledge Into Action: What's Data Got to Do With It?

Lisa Petrides, president and founder of the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education, conducts research that seeks to help educational institutions advance their capacities to use data and information to improve student and institutional success. Her book, Turning Knowledge Into Action, is based on interviews with over 65 community college top-level administrators. The book shows how community colleges are facing challenges in their efforts to collect data on student performance, to analyze it effectively, and to then share it in meaningful ways that lead to proactive decision making about investments in programs and services, such as targeting remedial assistance to those who need it, matching course availability with student demand, and providing better consumer information for prospective students and other important constituents.