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Post Test Competency 4: Data-Driven Strategic Planning

Angelita Perez

ORGL 3321 KV6 – Data Driven Decision Making I

South Texas College

Nancy Garcia

April 27, 2023

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Data-Driven Strategic Planning

After reviewing the South Texas College Strategic Plan and resources, it is clear that STC

weighs heavily on analysis and data. Data is a huge building block in STC’s formation of their

strategic plan and over all organizational goals. One could say that STC is a data driven

organization as the college has built a culture that is driven by the data collected from their

economic and social environment.

STC uses environmental scanning to track the trends of their internal and external factors.

In strategic planning it is essential to understand the internal and external factors of a company to

determine the future impact on the organization. Environmental scanning specifically collects

data from the social environment that gives great insight into these internal and external factors.

Internal factors could include budget and student retention, while external factors include the

demographics of the population, local economic conditions, and competing colleges and trade

schools within the same demographic. STC’s strategic plan focuses mainly on external factors

and uses environmental scans to assess both quantitative and qualitative data. However, the

Environmental Scan pdf itself is made up of mostly quantitative data. Most of the figures shown

are examining numerical and statistical data from 2017 and the progression it will make by 2027.

For example, “Figure 2: Jobs by Industry Subsector in the STC Economic Region, 2017 and

2027” compares the industry growth in careers from most popular to least specifically for our

region. While “Table A4.1: Detailed Completions Data for the STC Economic Region”

compares completion rates for a variety of degrees and certificates from 2015, 2016, and 2017,

against STC and surrounding competing colleges and trade schools.

Qualitative data was largely used as well in STC’s strategic planning. STC conducted a

study to research and analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT
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Analysis states that the study was “conducted to identify and assess internal and external

forces…(and) will assist in strategic planning”. This study was conducted between July 2018

through August 2018 and consisted of 72 participants in which the researcher facilitated

feedback questions and then compared all the information gathered to look for common themes.

Aside from SWOT, focus groups that included faculty, staff and students were created to review

STC’s vision and mission statements as well as the five goals of the college’s strategic plan. The

SWOT analysis, as well as the focus groups, can be essential to organizational growth because it

pinpoints common factors from real people and students. As much as numerical data is

important, qualitative data is equally important in providing feedback from those living in the

social environment of the organization.

The data STC has gathered has helped the organization in creating goals and objectives

that serve the faculty, staff, students, and community. By understanding their economic

environment and conducting the SWOT, STC makes affordability a priority while still offering

quality education. The core values of STC: student success, excellence, opportunity, community,

and integrity align with the research they have conducted. If I could create an objective, I would

refer to the SWOT Analysis and take a closer look at the weaknesses and threats to formalize a

plan of action. The top weakness according to the analysis is understaffing, while the top threat is

competing institutions. Referring to the Environmental Scan and analyzing the socio-economic

climate can help in reducing these weaknesses and threats.

All the data gathered has helped transform STC’s strategic plan into attainable

goals based on the people and community they serve. STC relies on data to tell the story of the

population they are serving. With accurate data STC can provide better services to students and

society.
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Additionally, the organization’s strategic plan should align with the mission and vision

statement. Any organization that wants to be successful should set a clear mission and vision

statement. These statements should align with company values and provide clear directions of

the organization’s goals. For South Texas College, these statements should inspire their

employees and motivate students by giving them a clear vision of the future if working for or

attending the college. While the mission and vision statement play a large role in running a

successful organization, strategic goals set clear objectives of what the organization aims to

achieve. Determining objectives and measuring results with the use of key performance

questions and key performance indicators is essential to understand what works and what does

not. Everything ties together creating the strategic plan.

After reviewing STC’s goals and objectives, I do believe they align with the vision and

mission statements. The strategic goal states that STC “is the catalyst for engaging and

strengthening the communities”, while the vision statement states STC “serves as a catalyst to

drive regional prosperity…”. Although the wording is different, the overall objective is the same.

Additionally, the strategic goal states that STC will “engage and strengthen communities through

diverse efforts” and lists strategic directions that include partnerships with school districts,

partnerships with local organizations to strengthen the workforce, and improving overall

community awareness of STC’s programs. Again, this aligns with the mission statement which

also indicates STC will serve the community through workforce development, cultural

enrichment, and regional collaborations.

To create the strategic objectives, it is important to identify key performance questions.

Identifying KPQs gives the organization insight on what they need to know to be able to

accurately deliver their objectives. Once KPQs have been identified, it is time to measure the
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success of each goal by using key performance indicators. There are three strategic objectives

that make up STCs strategic goals. The first is to “enhance and leverage partnerships with school

districts to improve college matriculation”. A good KPQ would ask, how well are we meeting

college matriculation by partnerships with school districts? The KPI would measure the number

of high school students currently in dual enrollment as well as the number that continue

enrollment after graduation. The second goal is to “strengthen and develop partnerships with

local organizations to align educational opportunities with community and workforce needs”.

The KPQ could ask, how has STC improved educational opportunities and workforce needs?

The KPI could measure the number of STC graduates that find job placement after obtaining

their degree or certification. The third goal is to “improve community awareness of South Texas

College’s educational options, programs, and services”. The KPQ could ask, what impact has

STC made on community awareness of the college’s educational options, programs, and

services? The KPI could measure current enrollment rates compared to previous years.

Key performance indicators measure the progress of each KPQ. To measure the number

of students in dual enrollment STC would need a data summarization. The data summarization

would gather the number of students from each school district enrolled in STCs dual enrollment

program. Once these students graduate high school, STC could gather further data to show the

number of students that are continuing education whether at STC or a different college or trade

school. This information would determine if STC is meeting their objective of matriculation. To

gather the data summarization, each school district would need to gather the information by

looking at student files and getting an accurate number of students in dual enrollment. Next, STC

needs to measure their improvement in the workforce. A percentage data analysis could be

conducted to determine the percentage of STC graduates that find job placement after obtaining
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their degree or certification. Numbers tell a story, and it is important to know if the percentage of

job placement is up or down to determine if STC is meeting their objective of improving

opportunities and workforce needs. STC has already ran an environmental scan, Figure 2: Jobs

by Industry Subsector in the STC Economic Region, 2017 and 2027 that shows the projected job

industry growth (pg. 4). However, to know how many of these people are STC graduates, STC

can send out a survey to their graduates to see how many have found job placement after

obtaining their degree. For STCs last objective, they could run a data period comparison. This

would be beneficial in understanding if enrollment rates have increased by STCs efforts of

community awareness. Again, the environmental scan shows this information in Table 6:

Completions by Institutions in the STC Economic Region, 2017 (pg. 26). At that time, STC had

the highest completion rates for certifications and associates, however UTRGV had the highest

completions for bachelor's degrees.

I believe the KPIs I selected would accurately measure the objectives of STCs strategic

goals, because each KPI correlates with the KPQ. STC has an Institutional Research,

Effectiveness and Strategic Planning Team that is at the center of all data collected and is made

up of two departments: Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment (IEA), and Research and

Analytical Services (RAS). The IEA continuously assesses and analyzes data to improve

programs and services. The RAS uses qualitative and quantitative research, statistical analysis,

and surveys. This strategic planning team is responsible for conducting environmental scans,

SWOTS, and student surveys. They then assess all the data gathered to better understand if STC

is meeting their objectives.

Strategic planning involves many different aspects. It isn’t enough to just decide on goals

that match a vision and mission statement. While it is important to identify goals and objectives
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and align them with the vision and mission, it is essential to ask the right questions with the use

of key performance questions. It is equally essential to measure the performance of the

organizational goals with the use of key performance indicators and data.

Furthermore, integrating the collected data from the KPIs with data visualizations helps

to make sense of all the information. Given that South Texas College is a data driven

organization, data visualizations are an essential tool. STC has an Institutional Research,

Effective, and Strategic Planning Team, which gathers all the data and makes evidence-based

decisions accordingly with student success in mind. The data collected is aimed at their strategic

objectives as well as their student achievement goals. To obtain the objectives and goals, STC

has identified five key performance indicators: enrollment, college readiness, progress,

completion, and post-graduation success. Data is integrated with each KPI to gain an

understanding of the progress STC is making regarding student success. STC has made their

KPIs and student success goals accessible to the public. For one who may not quite understand

data and the various numbers, STC simplifies the information with the use of data visualization.

Each indicator has a graphical representation making the data easier to understand.

STC mostly utilized bar graphs throughout their measuring process. Bar graphs are the

most used graph because they simplifies the data making it easy to read and understand.

Enrollment is broken down into two types. Traditional enrollment is displayed with a bar graph

and the measurements are graphed in whole numbers. Dual matriculation is also displayed as a

bar graph but documented using percentages. This data could be combined on a table chart by

displaying the fall years in the first column, the data set labels would be the two types of

enrollments, and data values would include the numbers and percentages recorded for each

corresponding year.
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There are three subject areas of Texas Success Initiative (TSI) obligations in determining

college readiness: math, reading and writing. Each is shown with a bar graph; however, on the

main web page for STCs KPIs, it is shown as a multi-series line graph. Line graphs are effective

in showing various data sets. A grouped bar graph could be an alternative as well in combining

all the information into one data visualization.

The progress of STC students is broken down into the fall-to-fall persistence rate of

students who graduated or continued enrollments, and the overall success completion rate. A bar

graph is used for each data measure; these measures could be combined on one graph with the

use of a line graph. Just as the bar graph displays the percentages on the y-axis with the semester

years on the x-axis, the line graph would look the same, but with points connected by a line for

each percentage.
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Student completion has three categories that include graduation rate, IPEDS graduation

rates and degrees and certificates awarded. For completion, one and two the data measured is

graduation rates and the data is shown on bar graphs. This data could also be displayed using a

table with the fiscal year being in the first column, the data set labels would be the type of

graduation rates, in this case there are three different types: FT-FTIC 3-year graduation rate, FT-

FTIC students and FT-FTIC Dev Ed students. The data values would be the percentages

collected for each data set.

Under post-graduation success, there are two types of visual data shown. License Exam

Passing Rates are recorded on a table chart. There are eleven programs and five years of data

recorded for each program, a table chart is the best visualization to use because there is so much

information displayed, and the table makes it easier to read. Graduation success is shown on a

bar graph, an alternative, yet still effective visualization would be a line graph.
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There are various conclusions one can make by reading the visualizations of each KPI.

Traditional enrollment and dual matriculation were at a low in the fall year of 2020. This could

likely be due to the pandemic and due to the shutdown; students were not able to attend class in

person. Another interesting observation about enrollment is the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board Data. There is consistently a higher number of females enrolled than males.

Furthermore, Hispanics profoundly dominate the headcount, likely due to the region we live in.

Upon looking at college readiness, one can conclude that the TSI targets were not met for any of

the subjects in the fall of 2021. This may also be due to the pandemic; in the fall of 2021 students

had already spent a year or more not attending in person classes. TSI reach also tends to be

higher for reading than for math and writing. The fall-to-fall persistence of students does not

seem to fluctuate very much in the years of fall 2018 through fall 2022. While the successful

course completion rate was at its lowest in 2020 and 2021, it is projected to rise for the fall of

2022 and 2023. The full time FTIC three-year graduation rate has remained steady over the

previous five years. The percentage of full time FTIC students has steadily increased over the

years while FTIC Dev Ed student percentages fluctuate. Degrees and certificates awarded peaked

in the year 2020 and show decline for the years of 2021 and 2022. Of the three award types,

baccalaureate, associates and certificates, associate degrees are the highest awarded with

baccalaureates being the lowest awarded. This is likely because STC offers a wide variety of
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associate programs in comparison to bachelor programs. Most of the programs that require a

licensure exam have high passing rates. Graduation success has remained at 85% or above from

fall 2017 through fall 2021. This shows that only a small percentage do not find placement after

graduating.

Another data source to consider is tuition. It is important to gather data and get a visual

on how full time FTIC students are paying for college. The information could include the

percentages of students that paid tuition in one of the following forms: out of pocket, grants, or

scholarships, and subsidized or unsubsidized loans. Many students do not attend college due to

the cost. This information could also help in understanding how many students do not return

after their first semester due to cost issues. Getting an idea of how first-time students are paying

for college and how many drop out after their first semester could be essential for STC in further

developing tuition costs. It could also be essential in determining if the cost of tuition plays a

large factor in student turnover. This information could be displayed with the use of a bar graph

for each tuition type.

Overall, the use of data is essential in measuring the organizations’ KPIs. However, data

visualization gives a better perspective of what the information means. Visual data helps to

identify trends and patterns, while monitoring the goals of the organization. Graphs and tables

give visual context to the data and can help the organization with decision making. Data can

often be complex; therefore, the use of graphs makes data easier to understand. Since this

information is accessible to the public, STC used data visualization to their advantage by

integrating graphs and tables with each KPI. These visualizations communicate STCs data

findings giving it context and making it comprehendible.

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While many factors go into integrating data with an organization, organizations must

create a strategic plan with clear objectives that they wish to accomplish. An understanding of

how to apply qualitative and quantitative data is essential in making data-driven decisions that

coincide with the strategic plan. Identifying key performance questions and key performance

indicators help build the objectives and measures whether or not the business is performing

accordingly. While KPIs measure performance, data visualization gives a clear picture of all the

data gathered making it easier to understand.

South Texas College’s strategic plan uses various forms of qualitative and quantitative

data. STC conducted a very thorough environmental scan to understand the region in which they

serve. Quantitative data was gathered though the environmental scan of the social environment

that gave great insight into internal and external factors. The college conducted a study to

analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This form of qualitative data called

SWOT Analysis states that the study was “conducted to identify and assess internal and external

forces… (And) will assist in strategic planning”. Likewise, data was gathered using focus groups

that reviewed STC’s vision statement, mission statement, and the five objectives of the strategic

plan. These factors help to build the college’s objectives making the goals more attainable and

encourage data-driven decisions.

STC has created a cohesive vision and mission statements that align with the

organizational goals and strategic objectives. The strategic goal states that STC “is the catalyst

for engaging and strengthening the communities”, while the vision statement states STC “serves

as a catalyst to drive regional prosperity…” Additionally, the strategic goal states that STC will

“engage and strengthen communities through diverse efforts” and lists strategic directions that

include partnerships with school districts, partnerships with local organizations to strengthen the
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workforce, and improving overall community awareness of STC’s programs. This aligns with the

mission statement, which also indicates STC will serve the community through workforce

development, cultural enrichment and regional collaborations. Once strategic objectives have

been identified, it is necessary to utilize key performance questions and key performance

indicators. KPQs give the organization insight on what they need to know to be able to execute

their objectives. KPIs measure the progress of the objectives in comparison with the KPQs. To

ensure that data is properly gathered and KPI progress is measured accurately, STC has an

Institutional Research, Effectiveness and Strategic Planning Team that is at the center of all data

collected and is made up of two departments: Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment (IEA),

and Research and Analytical Services (RAS). This team is responsible for collecting qualitative

and quantitative data. They then analyze and assess the data gathered to make improvements and

gain an understanding as to whether or not they are meeting their objectives.

While the use of data is necessary in measuring the strategic objectives with KPIs, data

visualization gives a clearer perspective of what the information means. Data visualization is

integrated with each KPI to gain an understanding of the progress STC is making regarding

student success. STC has made their KPIs and student success goals accessible to the public. For

one who may not quite understand data and the various numbers, STC simplifies the information

with the use of graphical representations making the data easier to understand. STC has

identified five key performance indicators: enrollment, college readiness, progress, completion,

and post-graduation success. When reviewing the KPIs and graphs, one can make logical

conclusions based on the data visuals. For example, it is clear that the pandemic effected

traditional enrollment and dual matriculation in 2020 because enrollment was at a low. The

effects of the pandemic went over into fall of 2021 with all TSI scores not reaching the targets
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for the year. One can also conclude that there is consistently a higher number of females enrolled

than males and Hispanics profoundly dominate the headcount likely due to the region we live in.

STC weighs heavily on analysis and data. After reviewing the South Texas College

Strategic Plan and resources, it is clear that data is a large factor in the formation of STC’s

strategic plan and over all organizational goals. One could say that STC is a data driven

organization as the college has built a culture that is driven by the data collected from their

economic and social environment. To build their objectives, STC ran an environmental scan. The

scan gave STC a clear view of internal and external factors of the region. Furthermore, STC used

quantitative data throughout the scan to make predictions regarding industry growth, earnings by

occupation, unemployment by industry, and population in the STC region. Qualitative data was

gathered through focus groups and SWOT analysis in order to analyze feedback of the

individuals of the social environment. All the information gathered allows STC to make data

driven decisions based on the demographic and area that they serve.

Data driven decisions are the building block to creating strategic objectives. Once STC

gathered data from the social economic environment, this allowed for a clear vision and mission

statement that aligns with the organizational goals. In order to determine that the target of student

success is met STC utilized key performance indicators. KPIs measure the progress of STC’s

mission and objectives. STC is very transparent about all the data collected and makes it

accessible to the public with data visualization. The use of data visualization simplifies the data

to understand trends and patterns. Graphs and tables give visual context to the data and can help

the organization identify strengths and weaknesses. To ensure that data is being analyzed

correctly, STC has incorporated an Institutional Research, Effectiveness and Strategic Planning
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Team. This team ensures that the strategic plan, effectiveness and measures are cohesive with

one another.

After conducting a web search for tuition on the STC website, I found that there is no

breakdown of how students are paying for college. While STC offers information regarding

tuition and fees for in district, out of district and non-residents, there is no data specifying

whether tuition is paid out of pocket, grants, scholarships or loans. It is important to gather data

on how full time FTIC students are paying for college. The information could include the

percentages of students that paid tuition in one of the following forms: out of pocket, grants or

scholarships, and subsidized or unsubsidized loans. Many students do not attend college due to

the cost. Tuition costs effects STC’s KPIs of enrollment and persistence progress. Both of these

percentages may fluctuate due to student drop out if they can no longer afford costs. Thus,

gathering data on how students pay their tuition can help gain an understanding how many

students do not return after their first semester due to cost issues. Getting an idea of how first

time students are paying for college and how many drop out after their first semester could be

essential for STC in further developing tuition costs. It could also be essential in determining

how the cost of tuition plays a factor on student turnover.

South Texas College uses data as a road map in successfully reaching their objectives.

Without an effective strategic plan, goals and objectives cannot be reached. STC has gathered

information from their environment to understand the social and economic factors such as

income, education and employment. These elements allow for data-driven decisions that help

shape the organizations objectives. To ensure measurability and effectiveness of objectives, STC

uses KPQs and KPIs. Finally, STC uses data visualization to put into context and communicate
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the data of which they have gathered. Overall, data is the driving force upon which STC relies on

for organizational and student success.

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References

“2019 - 2025 Strategic Plan.” South Texas College,

www.southtexascollege.edu/strategicplanning/index.html.

Anderson, C. (2015). Creating a Data-Driven Organization.

Cano, J. (2018, August 8). Research and Analytical Services Qualitative Study College-Wide

SWOT Analysis. https://www.southtexascollege.edu/strategicplanning/docs/College-

Wide-SWOT-Analysis.pdf

COST OF ATTENDING South Texas College. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from

https://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/forms/COST_OF_ATTENDANCE_

AT_STC.pdf

Environmental Scan of Social, Regulatory, and Technological Environments (2018).

https://www.southtexascollege.edu/strategicplanning/docs/RAS-Environmental-Scan.pdf

In-District Out of District. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from

https://finance.southtexascollege.edu/businessoffice/cashiers/pdf/estimated-22-23.pdf

“Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Strategic Planning < South Texas College.”

Catalog.southtexascollege.edu, catalog.southtexascollege.edu/support-

services/institutional-research-effectiveness/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2023.

Leon Hill, H. (2019, April 4). South Texas College: A Focus on the Five Goals for Strategic

Planning. https://www.southtexascollege.edu/strategicplanning/docs/Strategic-Planning-

Consulting-Analysis-2019.pdf

Marr, Bernard. Key Performance Indicators the 75 Measures Every Manager Needs to Know. 1st

ed., Financial Times Press, 16 Feb. 2012, p. 347.

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South Texas College Environmental Scan (2018, August).

https://www.southtexascollege.edu/strategicplanning/docs/Environmental-Scan.pdf

“Strategic Goals and Directions.” South Texas College,

www.southtexascollege.edu/strategicplanning/strategic-goals.html.

Strategic Planning Opportunities/Threats (2019, February 16).

https://www.southtexascollege.edu/strategicplanning/docs/Board-Retreat-Opportunities-

Threats.pdf

Student Achievement Goals | Research and Analytical Services.

ras.southtexascollege.edu/factbook/goals/.

Student Tuition and Fees < South Texas College. (n.d.). Catalog.southtexascollege.edu.

Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://catalog.southtexascollege.edu/tuition-fees/

“Vision, Mission and Core Values.” South Texas College,

www.southtexascollege.edu/about/mission.html.