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University of Fraser Valley Fosters Institutional Intelligence and Improves Decision-Making
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Education
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Predictive Quality Analytics
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Data Science Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) was facing challenges in gathering information from disparate relational databases and their Banner ERP system. They were using Microsoft Access queries to collect data, which was then loaded into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for analysis. This process was time-consuming and did not scale well. Each new project or field of inquiry required a new set of queries and spreadsheets. The university wanted to improve the distribution and availability of data within the institution. They were looking for a solution that could consolidate their data for clean, aggregated reporting and provide metrics about enrollment, academics, programs registration, and other domains.
About The Customer
The University of the Fraser Valley is a fully accredited, public university located in the Fraser Valley just east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The university enrolls approximately 16,000 students per year and has seven locations throughout the Fraser Valley, as well as a campus in Chandigarh, India. UFV offers 100 programs spanning masters and bachelors degrees, diplomas, certificates, apprenticeship and trades training, and continuing studies. The university is committed to being innovative, entrepreneurial and accountable in achieving its strategic goals. The desire to transmit real-time data was the impetus for the university to acquire a business intelligence (BI) platform.
The Solution
The university selected Information Builders’ WebFOCUS business intelligence (BI) platform to improve the distribution and availability of data. They also purchased iWay DataMigrator, which integrates diverse information sources into a single coherent framework. With the help of Information Builders Professional Services, they developed reports and dashboards for key constituencies across campus. They replaced multiple Access queries with WebFOCUS reports that permit business users to select, filter, and display enrollment data in a variety of formats. They also created a data warehouse that rolls up data into a common format. Each night, DataMigrator initiates ETL procedures to extract information from several databases and combine it into an operational data store that supports the reporting and analytic requirements of multiple departments.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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