Best Practices to Avoid Misreporting University Data To External Sources

Any school that has had to correct erroneous data that affected, or could have affected, its placement in the rankings knows that ensuring the accuracy of data submitted to outside sources is critical. Regardless of whether the misreporting was intentional or the product of an oversight, the act can have serious repercussions, not the least of which is damage to a school's public image. Fortunately, there are simple and cost-effective actions that an institution can take to avoid releasing inaccurate data. The following are best practices that should be considered to avoid misreporting university data to external sources and surveys. Maintain a Central Depository of the Data Used to Calculate Externally Reported Metrics by Utilizing a Standard Student Record System Externally reported data should be generated from an institution's standard student record system, which undoubtedly includes various data security checks and balances. Using the same record system across all schools, including graduate and professional schools, allows for centralized review and contemporaneous tracking of the information used in data reporting. All actions affecting data in the system, such as who loads data or makes changes to data entries, will be tracked so that any changes may be reviewed and audited in the course of responding to external survey requests. Exclusive access to the system by username and password ensures that any additions, deletions, or alterations to data can be attributed to a specific user. Consider a Centralized Process for Reporting Data in Response to External Survey Requests To the extent an institution has a decentralized process for reporting data to external survey requests, it should consider a centralized process or implement centralized procedures in order to verify the accuracy and consistency of data. The mandated involvement of a last-stop, quality-control office ensures that any outgoing data will be reviewed a final time before it is disseminated externally. In addition to its role as the final gatekeeper for the thoroughness and accuracy of data, such an office would serve as the first and last point of communication for any outside entity soliciting data from the institution. Questions from data source offices (i.e., the office of admission, the office of financial aid, etc.) should be directed to the centralized reporting office, thereby promoting consistency in the feedback and instruction to all data source offices...