Higher Education institutions should incorporate learning systems into the business intelligence framework
December 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
The Sloan Consortium, an association committed to the advancement of online learning, released the results of a a survey it commissioned on the growth of online learning in higher education. It should be of no surprise to learn that online learning continues to grow as a mode for learning, although the growth rate from 2006 to 2007 did decline slightly when compared with 2005 to 2006. Still, nearly 20% of the nations 17.6 million students are enrolled in at least one fully online course.
Of particular note is the fact that nearly 54 % of institutions are either somewhat or fully engaged in offering online learning as a key part of their strategy to deliver education.
As online learning becomes a more strategic component of the institution’s success, so to does the data within the learning management system (LMS) compared with other institutional systems. Unfortunately, too often the LMS is left to be an island of data unto itself and is not usually integrated with the administrative or ERP systems.
This can be detrimental to decision making as it is not always possible to form a 360 degree view of student activity and learning assessment without the data from both the LMS and the ERP.
While institutions have increasingly showed a willingness to interface these two systems at a transactional level, it is time that institutions consider integrating the data from these two systems to create a fully informed set of decision support tools. Increasingly accrediting agencies are asking for information on student engagement and learning outcomes. These are two areas of measurement that must come from a combined view of the data.
In five to ten years this problem may be easier to solve as the systems are likely to become one. Until that time, one should consider a business intelligence strategy that combines data from these disparate systems to create fully informed profiles of students, their engagement levels, and learning outcomes.
ASR selected to assist with SAS Fair Banking implementation at major bank
December 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment
ASR has been selected to assist with the implementation of the SAS Fair Banking solution at a very large nationwide mortgage lender. ASR was selected for this assignment based on past success implementing the SAS Fair Banking solution at a midsized morgage lender earlier this year. This will be one of the first implementations of latest version of SAS Fair Banking (version 8). The SAS Fair Banking solution provides a complete set of tools for self-assessing compliance with the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). SAS Fair Banking enables mortgage lending institutions to effectively and efficiently collect, validate, store, isolate, aggregate, and report on loan data and loan application data. This enables financial institutions to better understand how their organization is performing based on the key compliance concerns behind HMDA and CRA. As a result, the institutions are able to meet the rigorous HMDA and CRA filing requirements with greater accuracy and timeliness. ASR will be working as a subcontractor to Zencos Consulting LLC and SAS on this engagement.
ASR uses SAS to develop Achieving the Dream solution for North Harris Montgomery Community College District
July 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
ASR Analytics is awarded a project with North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD) to develop a SAS Enterprise Business Intelligence solution in support of the Achieving the Dream initiative. Project objectives include the development of data integration processes from existing data sources and the deployment of several OLAP cubes for enterprise wide information consumption by key stakeholders.
ASR impelements SAS Fair Banking Solution for mid-sized mortgage lender
May 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
ASR Analytics performed the first configuration of the SAS Fair Banking Solution at a mid-sized mortgage lender. This configuration included the development of custom filters to flag loans with potential problems as well as implementation of all of the standard data management and reporting features of the SAS Fair Banking Solution. The solution was completely installed in the development environment within 90 days of project start.
Founding principal of ASR to present at International Business Rules Forum
May 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
ASR Analytics founding principal invited to present at 10th Annual International Business Rules Forum in October in Orlando, FL. The presentation will cover how ASR is helping the IRS manage and leverage its business rules using RuleBurst software.
ASR to develop wireless PDA business intelligence application for a large commercial vehicle manufacturer
January 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
ASR Analytics is awarded a contract with a Large Commercial Vehicle Manufacturer to build a wireless PDA business intelligence application. Development of the application used SAS Integration Technologies, including Metadata Server authentication and authorization, SAS Stored Processes, and HTML forms. The application provides real-time query capability to surface vehicle supply and demand databases, create email alerts, and reports on current inventory through a handheld PDA.
ASR provides Business Intelligence ‘Quick Start’ for North Harris Montgomery Community College District
September 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
ASR Analytics is awarded a project with North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD) and the SAS Institute (SAS) to carryout tasks related to the implementation of a BI Quick Start project focused on enrollment management. The primary objectives of the BI Quick Start were to build data integration processes from a SQL Server database containing extracts from NHMCCD’s Colleague ERP system to develop and validate several critical registration reports.
ASR builds Maryland Assessment Tool for Community Health (MATCH) using the SAS v9 Platform
September 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
ASR Analytics is awarded a project with The Family Health Administration (FHA) to create a system, called the Maryland Assessment Tool for Community Health (MATCH), which will utilize the SAS v9 Platform to provide a browser-based query and reporting functionality that provides access to the full computation and analytical capabilities of SAS. MATCH is intended to address: (1) Public health purpose and vision; (2) Role of data in evaluation of morbidity and mortality; (3) Use of data to implement intervention progress; (4) Use of data to evaluate public health programs; (5) Demonstrate where we are now; and (6) Indicate where we want to go.
ASR forms strategic partnership with Zencos Consulting
February 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Zencos and ASR Analytics Form Strategic Partnership. Zencos Consulting LLC and ASR Analytics, LLC (ASR) have formed a strategic partnership to provide advanced analytics and business intelligence (BI) solutions to new and existing customers. The partnership will allow the two companies to leverage their strengths, advanced analytics and modeling for ASR and BI reporting for Zencos.
DM Review publishes ASR white paper on simulation modeling for enterprise decision management
January 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
ASR Analytics white paper is published in DM Review magazine, a leading industry journal, targeted towards executives that are responsible for business intelligence, analytics integration, and data warehousing. ASR’s article, “The Truth About Facts,” examines how micro-simulation modeling offers an innovative solution to the challenges surrounding enterprise decision management. The article can be viewed online at the DM Review web site: http://www.dmreview.com/article_sub.cfm?articleId=1044331