INTERCONNECTS

One of the 10 largest universities in the United States, Pennsylvania State University, has implemented Cognos, the world leader in enterprise business intelligence (BI) and corporate performance management solutions. Over 1000 employees at Penn State are using Cognos to report on and analyze student and administrative data, including alumni, development, Graduate School, human resources, enrollment, budget, and undergraduate admissions. With Cognos, employees have instant access to information and the ability to 'slice and dice' information to spot trends. Penn State's Graduate School, with nearly 11,000 advanced degree students, is currently using Cognos to conduct a major internal program review of 147 programs. Data is pulled from a number of areas: admissions, enrollment, new student data, average GRE scores, average MAT, average G-MAT scores, and average time to degree. This information is then sent to the Graduate Council committee, which reviews the data and identifies areas for improvement. Cognos is also used by the Graduate School to report back to state and federal organizations that provide funding for programs. For example, the National Science Foundation requires data on programs, gender and minority populations in order to fulfill grant applications. "The size and diversity of Penn State demanded a business intelligence solution that could bring together data from all aspects of university administration and student life and make information accessible and usable by our employees," said Gary Augustson, Vice Provost, Information Technology, Pennsylvania State University. "With Cognos, we have a powerful reporting and analysis solution that is helping us to increase efficiencies and recognize cost-saving opportunities across departments." "Universities and colleges are continually searching for solutions that will allow them to increase their performance across many facets of the business. Managing the student lifecycle from enrollment through to the alumni relationship, and improving performance in advancements and external funding management are key areas where our higher education customers are leveraging Cognos solutions," said Terence Atkinson, director of public sector solutions, Cognos. "Higher education institutions are typically large, complex organizations with multi-million dollar operating budgets. Using Cognos, our higher education customers gain deep insight into the operations across many different faculties, divisions and critical business processes, enabling them to more effectively budget and plan - factors that are key to supporting the mission of any educational institution."