Data Informed Interventions for Graduate Education

This chapter explores the pivotal role of graduate school deans in enhancing the quality of graduate education through direct engagement and strategic influence. Drawing on four decades of experience at three prominent public universities – Georgia Tech, Purdue University, and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) – the author reflects on the importance of data in systematically monitoring and improving the graduate student experience. A critical factor is having query protocols that allow data to be broken down by individual program and further disaggregated by gender, race, ethnicity, and geography. This chapter further details how access to critical metrics – such as admissions and enrollment numbers, attrition and completion rates, climate survey assessments, and job placement and salary statistics – has enabled effective advocacy for change and the development of targeted interventions to address graduate student challenges. Under headings that include enrollment, income and debt, instruction, advising, inclusivity, mentoring, curriculum, and student success, the author shares insights into a number of the data-driven interventions and strategies that have been employed to improve graduate education.