Tampa, Fla.– Data sharing was the hot topic at the Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success on Nov. 6. Education leaders from across Florida discussed a wide range of topics: chief among them was finding ways to unlock the data siloed within their institutions.
Michael Holt, Midtown Consulting Group (MCG) Managing Director / Chief Innovation Officer, joined Central Florida Education Ecosystem Database (CFEED) leaders Diana Pienaar, Director; and Ashton Terry, Senior Manager, to share CFEED’s unique collaborative data-sharing model. The model, which is unique to Florida and the United States, is based on collaboration between CFEED partners, including two central Florida school districts (Osceola and Orange), and two higher education institutions (Valencia College and the University of Central Florida).
The data collaboration between these institutions enables CFEED to compile historical and ongoing data from the entire student journey. CFEED then uses MCG’s AI platform and analytic capabilities to interpret the variables, thereby providing a comprehensive view of student success, outcomes, and opportunities. By using data analysis and reporting tools, leaders can identify insights into student readiness, course pathways, and other trends, including data on Transfer Shock and Transfer Readiness. This system and its tools serve as a template that could be implemented statewide.
To demonstrate CFEED’s collaborative infrastructure, and how it can support students who transfer from Valencia College to UCF, Pienaar and Terry shared research about Osceola Prosper, which provides free access to Valencia College for high school graduates of Osceola County. The team also shared updates from the Helios Education Foundation Transfer Scholars program that has helped hundreds of Osceola Prosper students prepare for a successful transfer experience.
Dr. Tonjua Williams, President of St. Petersburg College, kicked off the summit calling for an “inter-institutional” statewide initiative to share data and to align curriculum. She envisioned sharing plans and goals, creating stackable credentials, and developing an integrated system for advising and transfer success that would create a seamless transfer experience for students.
Ashton Terry, Senior Manager of CFEED echoed Williams’s sentiments.
“In listening to the message of the keynote speaker and other summit attendees, there is a shared sense of urgency among Florida’s post-secondary leaders to have stronger communications, alignment and data sharing so that more students in our state can follow proven patterns of success as they work towards graduation and a career plan,” Terry said.
Several presenters, including Harrison Oonge, Assistant Dean for Academic Planning, UCF, and Farah Abass, Academic Program Coordinator, UCF highlighted CFEED and its research in their talks. In his presentation about “System Approaches to Pre-and Post-Transfer Student Success” Oonge pointed to the work accomplished by the UCF Direct Connect program, with help from CFEED research, that has helped align curriculum and create success pathways between Valencia College and UCF. CFEED’s Interactive Transfer Readiness model, which uses analytics to connect Relevant Courses for UCF majors to determine the likelihood of student success has been instrumental in these efforts.
As institutions grapple with increasing challenges, data insights are important for harnessing the advancements in technology that can help in degree auditing, articulation, and curriculum alignment to improve students’ post-secondary journey.
For more information, contact Michael Holt, Managing Director / Chief Innovation Officer at LinkedIn or Diana Pienaar, CFEED Director, Valencia College, at dpienaar@valenciacollege.edu or visit CFEED.
About the Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success
The one-day conference entitled, “Partnering with a Purpose,” provides information on high-impact practices for transfer students’ success and is a networking and workgroup forum where transfer professionals can gather, promote, share, and exchange the best strategies, techniques, and tools for transfer student success. This unique opportunity is a showcase for transfer professionals to take back actionable and impactful ideas designed to provide engaging experiences for transfer students. The Florida Summit intentionally balances the best practices of sending and receiving institutions.
About CFEED
The Central Florida Education Ecosystem Database is a collaborative data sharing project including Orange County Public Schools, The School District of Osceola County, Valencia College, and University of Central Florida. CFEED’s goal is to build the tools and processes necessary to provide a silo-free examination of student performance from pre-kindergarten through post-secondary and begin identification of insights that can be used to provide interventions that will increase student success.
