Creating Interactive Dashboards with Microsoft Excel

Creating Interactive Dashboards

Excel 2010-2013

Jennifer Chadwick

Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management

University of North Georgia

EM Consultant

Loralyn Taylor, Ph.D.

Director of Analytics for University Student Success Initiatives

Ohio University

Jenn’s UNG Story

Keeping You and Your End Users Happy

Easy Excel Dashboards

• The Data Imperative

– Translating Data to Action

– Empowering end-users

• Data Exploration & Communication

– Use cases

• New features in 2010 & 2013

– Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts, Slicers, PowerPivot

• Building an Interactive Dashboard

University of North Georgia

• Public Liberal Arts, 7th largest in USG

• 5 Campuses

• Fall 2015 Enrollment:17,629

• Senior Military College - 1 of 6 in nation

• Enrollment increases – 11 consecutive years

• Consolidation – 6,500-16,000 overnight

• Moving forward – data mining

Data Mining and Challenges

• Data Cleanup and Analysis

• Used the data to identify/prioritize challenges

– Attrition between semester to semester enrollment

– Attrition between drop/add and census

– Scheduling and registration difficult - attrition

– Course offerings needed to be aligned with

student plans of study

DATA MINE AND DEVELOP PLAN OF ACTION

Results

• Attrition between semester to semester

enrollment

―1,300 more students registered earlier at Gainesville

• Attrition between drop/add and census

―Retained 11.4% more students, tracking

• Scheduling and registration difficult

―Attrition reduced by 60%

• Aligned course offering with student plans of

enrollment

―Grow enrollment more quickly which should equate

to higher graduation rates.

• Small, private

• Low selectivity

• High First Gen

• High Pell

• HS Ave: B

• SAT Total: 970

Graduation Rate Increases

Two Year on time Associate’s Degree: +74%

Four Year on time Bachelor’s Degree: +23%

Ohio University

DANGER

HIGHER ED

UNDER PRESSURE

Enrollment Management

The Goal

“…more and better information into the

hands of a greater number of people,

enabling informed decision-making.”

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/academic-analytics-new-tool-new-era

Analytics

React

Act

Analytics

The Perils of Data Analyses

Challenges

• Enterprise BI systems

– Not user friendly

– High start-up costs

– High IT investment • Specialized skills

• Long start times

• Not agile or responsive

– Deliver report, get new questions

• Capacity – Analyses, Interpretation, Reporting

Excel PivotTables

Excel PivotTables

PowerPivot

• Microsoft add in to 2010 & 2013

– Free

– Microsoft Download Center

• www.Microsoft.com/en-us/download

• Search PowerPivot 2010 or 2013

• Powerful

– Still Excel PivotTables

• No programming

– Millions of records

– Combine & manipulate your data

“Dashboards are completely useless if you don’t

know the problem you are trying to solve”

--Jim Sterne, Chair Digital Analytics Association

Define the problem:

• Why:

– Exploring & analyzing

– Presenting & communicating

• What:

– Accurately represent data

– Clarity, KISS

• Who:

– Know your audience & their needs

Data Visualizations & Dashboards

“Above all else, show the data”

--Edward Tufte

My favorite references:

Stephen Few:

• Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual

Communication of Data

• Now You See It: Simple Visualization Techniques for

Quantitative Analysis

Let’s Build!

1. Add new worksheet

2. Click top left corner

to select all

3. Add white fill to sheet

4. Add logo

Excel PivotTables

1. Insert PivotChart

2. Select Chart Type

3. Click OK

Cleaning up

our

PivotChart

Branding

Use

University

Colors!

Save as Template

for future use

Change your Chart Design

1. Select the Chart, Design Tab

2. Quick Layout Button

3. Pick your Layout

4. Add Chart Titles, Axis Titles…

Repeat: PivotTable, PivotChart, Move to Dashboard

Adding Slicers for Interactive Data Exploration

1. Select a chart

2. Analyze Tab

3. Insert Slicer

4. Pick field to filter on to insert Slicer

• Fall Year

• Can also add multiple Slicers at once

1. Slicer

2. Slicer Tools

• Options

3. Columns

• 3

1. Right click on the Slicer box

2. Click Slicer Settings

• Uncheck Display Header • If values are obvious

• Check Hide items with no data

3. Resize to get 4—move into position

Format Your Slicer

Slicer Tools Options Tab

• Lots of Slicer Styles

• Adjust height, width

• Can Align multiple Slicer boxes

• EXPLORE your options!!

Link your Slicers to each Chart

Other Cool Features

Key

Performance Indicators

Top 10 List

• Bottom 5, etc.

Explore!

Dashboard Ideas

• Admissions

– Top 10 counties by prospects, conversion rate,

applications, yield rates, confirmations, etc.

– Office management

• Counselor performance, contacts, days since last contact

– Time series

• Apps over time vs. student demographics, geographic

info, territory, counselor

– Fin Aid info

• Retention by package, EFC, gap, FASFA filing

Dashboard Ideas

• Student Success

– Pre-requisite vs. class performance vs. next class

– Student progression to grad by demographic

factors

– Attrition over time by demographic or geographic

info

– Registration

• Next semester reg vs time or demographic info

• Top 10 courses— >waitlists, < remaining seats, dropped

during add/drop

Future Presentations

• SEM 25, Nov 4, 8am

– Analytics in Student Success: From Admissions to

Commencement

• AACRAO National

– Half-day workshop—Creating Interactive

Dashboards in Excel

– Analytics in Student Success: From Admissions to

Commencement

• March 23, 9:15am

Questions?

Loralyn Taylor, Ph.D.

Director of Analytics for University Student

Success Initiatives

[email protected]

@LoralynTaylor

www.linkedin.com/in/loralyntaylor/

Jennifer Chadwick

Associate Vice President of Enrollment

Management

[email protected]

[email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/

jennifer-chadwick/36/803/ba9

AACRAO 2015 Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Hollywood, FL

- November 1 - 4, 2015

Registration is now open. www.aacrao.org/2015-sem

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