The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete

A quick read of this article will inform you that it is not just in assessment and learning outcomes that the world is turning to data and more data; although you will learn in SCUP's new book, A Guide to Planning for Change, about the immense importance of information analytics. From this article:

At the petabyte scale, information is not a matter of simple three- and four-dimensional taxonomy and order but of dimensionally agnostic statistics. It calls for an entirely different approach, one that requires us to lose the tether of data as something that can be visualized in its totality. It forces us to view data mathematically first and establish a context for it later. . . . This is a world where massive amounts of data and applied mathematics replace every other tool that might be brought to bear. Out with every theory of human behavior, from linguistics to sociology. Forget taxonomy, ontology, and psychology. Who knows why people do what they do? The point is they do it, and we can track and measure it with unprecedented fidelity. With enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.

Action Analytics: Measuring and Improving Performance That Matters in Higher Education

"Most colleges and universities underutilize their data and analytical resources. Even though they may be awash in data, they may lack the specific information they need to identify the performance aspects that truly matter to them and their audiences - aspects that are not necessarily those captured in the key performance indicators of today's institutions. Moreover, academic culture favors analysis over action. Traditionally, institutions have placed a greater degree of importance on reputation (prestige) than on improvements in academic performance. In practice, academic freedom too often translates into autonomy rather than accountability, making concerted action more complex. Yet in spite of these limitations, many institutions have found creative ways to measure and analyze performance and value."

Related ... Note that the lead author of this EDUCAUSE Review article is SCUP's Distinguished Service Award Donald M. Norris, co-author of A Guide for New Planners. Norris and his co-author, Nick Poulton, are right now hard at work on a completely revamped replacement for that SCUP publication.