The Challenge
UCEM is the leading provider of supported online learning for the Built Environment with more than 90 years’ experience in providing the highest quality learning opportunities for the profession. UCEM approached Equantiis to implement an automated Business Intelligence platform which would assist them in making informed data led decisions.
Like many higher education establishments UCEM were struggling to accurately report on data across multiple systems traditionally developed in silos by specialist vendors. Bringing together student information, course details, student progress and live financial information was problematic preventing a single point of reporting authority on all matters concerning its students body.
This resulted in a lack of correct information or in many cases the need to use manual reporting processes, presenting a risk in terms of regular human error and a large overhead, the physical effort to deliver information. To meet its core directive of ‘No Student Left Behind’ and an ever expanding student body UCEM needed an automated solution to this complex problem.
In addition, UCEM were struggling with a very manual process of delivering HESA returns from multiple data sources and had a vision to automate this.
The Solution
Equantiis carried out a detailed requirements gathering exercise to reveal all of the reporting and analytics requirements from the key stakeholders within the business. These requirements where then prioritised based on the immediate, mid and long term business goals that UCEM were working to.
Following initial research, Equantiis put together a team of business analysts and data scientists to design a platform to best serve the needs of the University, focusing on a number of prioritised business outcomes.
Equantiis identified a user focused self-serving tool which had the ability to provide drill down dashboards and reports giving real time analytics to the business.
The team created a series of automated workflows which aggregated the data from the various UCEM applications and uploaded them into a secure data warehouse platform.
Equantiis built a fully automated Data Warehouse and implemented the business intelligence system throughout the organisation, creating customised deliverable based on the individual user’s needs.
Hearts and minds were then developed to adopt a user centric data reporting culture without the reliance on IT.
The Result
- Automated aggregation of core Student, Tutor and Education systems.
– Student acquisition
– Student Management Systems
– Virtual Learning Environments VLE
– Electronic Marked Assessments and Exams
– Finance - Automated HESA returns
- Live monitoring of Student Module activity to ensure ‘No Student Left Behind’
- Predictive grade capability based on past student performance
- Fully interactive reports and dashboards
- Easy to use self-service interface to promote end user control
