Interview with Dr. Amelia Parnell From NASPA

Dr. Bridget Burns and Dr. Tiffany Polite from University Innovation Alliance (UIA) interviewed Dr. Amelia Parnell from NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Dr. Parnell wrote a book titled “You are a Data Person: Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus.” Her target audience is anyone who works in higher education in any position. She gathered context for the book by interviewing 40 professionals from a variety of roles to learn about their uses of data in their daily work. The book reflects themes from those discussions and introduces the Data Identity Framework, which describes six core competencies that are key to making data-informed decisions. The six areas are:

• Curiosity and Inquiry
• Research and Analysis
• Communication and Consultation
• Campus Context
• Industry Context
• Strategy and Planning

Dr. Burns reflected that the book sounds like it gives the reader confidence to use data to be an informed decision maker. Establishing the appropriate sequencing, timing, and pace using big data is doable for anyone in a collaborative environment, according to Dr. Parnell.

The most popular question, especially from graduate students, is “which is better, quantitative, or qualitative?” Dr. Parnell likes both. “Almost every conversation comes back to strategic communication.” Dr. Parnell said the book is not meant to be a one-time read. “I think the goal is to convince the reader… to have a lifelong commitment to building out a set of skills.” It’s a quick read, but a book you can come back to over and over as you develop these skill sets.

Dr. Burns recommends the book as a holiday gift or pass around the office, and asked for Dr. Parnell’s background. Dr. Parnell shared that her experiences in legislative policy, student affairs, research, and graduate teaching all reflect her passion for making complicated topics easy to understand and accessible.

Dr. Parnell responded to an audience question regarding how to brief one’s boss with data. She said, “For example, if you received a question from a senior leader who is curious about the number of transfer students who come to the campus from more than 500 miles away, a good first step is to probe to clarify what the senior leader is trying to accomplish. A key question to ask in doing so is how the requested data would be used. After ensuring that the desired use of the data is clear, the next step is to complete the analysis and provide the results.” Parnell suggests that a good approach for sharing results is to start by providing brief bullet points, which can help the colleague clearly identify relevant information.