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Tableau > Case Studies > Jacksonville State University Optimizes Productivity with Tableau
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Jacksonville State University Optimizes Productivity with Tableau

Technology Category
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Applicable Industries
  • Education
Applicable Functions
  • Business Operation
Services
  • Data Science Services
The Challenge
Jacksonville State University's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, a team of four, was tasked with collecting and analyzing organizational data to optimize operations across nearly 100 academic and non-academic departments. The team struggled with making credit hour productivity visible to departments and administrators, which involved identifying trends in student preference in the academic schedule. The goal was to create optimal course calendars from term to term based on a solid understanding of the data. However, the use of spreadsheets for this task proved to be inefficient and time-consuming, preventing the team from producing meaningful results in time for optimal decision-making. The team was unable to easily identify trends, such as the popularity of 8am classes over the same course at 3pm, leading to missed opportunities to adjust the schedule to meet the needs of the diverse student body.
About The Customer
Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university located in Jacksonville, Alabama. The university hosts over 10,000 students annually from Alabama, the southeast, and overseas. The university is composed of nearly 100 academic and non-academic departments with over 1,000 faculty and staff. The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, a team of four, is responsible for collecting and analyzing organizational data to facilitate smooth operations across the university. The Director of the office, Dr. Alicia Simmons, is a JSU graduate who has been with the university for over 20 years.
The Solution
To overcome the challenges of data analysis and visualization, JSU turned to Tableau Software. This solution allowed the team to save time and resources by providing a platform for systematic support to many different departments and increasing the productivity of the department. With Tableau, the team was able to conduct analyses in a fraction of the time it took with spreadsheets. Moreover, they were able to perform analyses that were previously impossible. The software enabled JSU to visually analyze its master schedule and identify opportunities to increase credit hour productivity. With everyone having the same view and access to the same data, decision-making was accelerated. Data could be analyzed in nearly real-time, allowing patterns to be corrected in time for the start of the next term.
Operational Impact
  • The use of Tableau Software allowed JSU to visually analyze its master schedule and identify opportunities to increase credit hour productivity.
  • The software provided a platform for systematic support to many different departments, increasing the productivity of the department.
  • Data could be analyzed in nearly real-time, allowing patterns to be corrected in time for the start of the next term.
Quantitative Benefit
  • The JSU Fact Book, an annual publication reflecting the history and progress of the university, used to take nearly a semester to complete in Excel. Now using Tableau, the publication process is significantly faster.
  • The JSU Fact Book was awarded second place among all universities in the southeast at the Southern Association for Institutional Research conference.

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