During the Fall 2024 semester, the Next Frontier Program met with stakeholders across Boise State to inform them of the program’s next steps and start conversations on the daily challenges that university data users face. While many talented stakeholders and their teams deliver remarkable value to the organization with the current system and data landscape, they face data access and quality issues that make their work challenging.
The issues shared are not isolated to one data domain but traverse the full spectrum of student, financial and human resources data. Some stakeholders expressed frustration about getting projects off the ground that have the potential to solve data issues, while others mentioned past projects that seem to have made the data landscape worse.
In light of this wide-ranging feedback, the Next Frontier Program Committee is focusing its work in the following areas:
- Revitalize Boise State’s approach to Data Governance to be more sensitive to business requirements and end-user data needs.
- Develop guidelines that support data ownership, data stewardship and related roles in more sustainable ways.
- Advocate for a new data architect role to ensure that the University’s data structures continue to evolve and support emerging business needs.
Although it will take time to deliver results, the program hopes to provide noticeable improvements to the campus community in the near future. The Next Frontier Program Committee looks forward to working with those who will play an active role in the work ahead and building capacity for better solutions.
For more information and the latest program updates, visit the Next Frontier Program website.