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In our recent book from Harvard Education Press, Creating a Data-Informed Culture in Community Colleges: A New Model for Educators, my colleague Brad Phillips and I present a data use model for student success grounded in the latest research on how people and organizations process information. Educators have focused on increasing data literacy for a few decades now, with little movement on the needle for increasing student success. We argue that, with so many advances in understanding human neuroscience, judgment and decision-making, and organizational habits, educational institutions should capitalize on what we have learned about our ability to present information in ways that will maximize its use.

America’s community colleges work hard to serve their students. Dedicated faculty, staff, and administrators put in countless hours and commit their professional lives to improving student outcomes. But working hard does not mean that their efforts are making a demonstrable difference in student success. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the graduation rate within 150 percent of normal time from first institution attended for first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking students at two-year postsecondary institutions has remained fairly constant for the past thirteen years, ranging from 30.5 to 34.0 percent (2005 and 2008 cohorts, respectively). The most recent cohort (2012 first term) has a rate of 31.6 percent. While part-time student data is not available, community college educators know that the college completion rate for these students is much lower than their full-time student counterparts.