Case Study: Valdosta State University achieves higher student retention, progression, and graduation rates with Oracle Business Intelligence and Endeca

Valdosta State University Identifies Key Correlations in Student Data to Improve Student Retention, Progression, and Graduation Rates

Valdosta State University, a regional public university in Georgia, faced a major retention challenge—only a 67% one-year student retention rate that cost about $6.5 million annually. The university needed to collect and analyze both structured and unstructured student data from multiple sources, quickly identify at-risk students, engage faculty and staff, and speed up responses to data requests.

VSU implemented Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition and Oracle Endeca Information Discovery to combine and analyze disparate data, provide interactive dashboards to 600+ faculty and staff, and deliver on-demand access to student performance. The result: administrative productivity increased more than 500% with 90% of data requests fulfilled within 24 hours (versus 1–3 weeks), DB admin time was cut in half, and new insights—such as a 10% higher retention for students who eat breakfast on campus and an 85% retention rate for freshmen who work on campus versus 55% overall—led to targeted investments (US$200,000 in student jobs) projected to save about US$2 million over two years.

Valdosta State University

Brian Haugabrook

CIO, Valdosta State University