Unlocking the Potential in Campus Data: Lessons from the NACCU Data Summit
Unlocking the Potential in Campus Data: Lessons from the NACCU Data Summit
When Elizabeth Godwin, Senior Director of Business Affairs at Wayne State University, attended the NACCU Data Summit, she was already dabbling in pivot tables and feeling frustrated with the limits of her tools. Then something clicked.
“I was trying to figure out what I could do better, how I could make things more efficient,” she recalled. “Then it was just like a light went off when I went to the Data Summit. It was like, yes, okay, I can do this.”
That moment sparked a transformation in the way she works with data, and in the way she serves her campus.
A Transformative Learning Experience
“It was transformative, to say the least,” Elizabeth explained. “I’ve always been a numbers person and an information systems person, and the Summit allowed me to put those two aspects together.”
Already a longtime Excel user, Elizabeth discovered how to take her skills further. She began building data models for financials and budgets that replaced dozens of manual spreadsheets.
“I used to do Excel spreadsheets for every index and then combine them when there was a reorg,” she said. “Everything was so manually intensive. Things that used to be buried are just that much more visible.”
She can now quickly surface errors, track comparisons across fiscal years, and give leaders information that was previously hidden. As she put it, “When they say everything is in the data, it absolutely is. And that’s exactly what I’m experiencing.”
Turning Knowledge into Daily Practice
Elizabeth uses what she learned every single day to support campus leadership and the finance committee. “They want what they want and they want it fast. Now I can respond immediately, because I have it all right there.”
She credits the Summit with directly expanding her capacity: “That’s another reason why I feel like I can juggle as many departments as I have, because of how I’ve consolidated the information and made it readily available.”
She also describes the experience as ongoing, not just a one-time shift. “I’ve probably done four iterations of reporting just because of where I was in the process and what I knew. As I grow in my knowledge and get more experience, I can streamline things better and set things up in the most efficient way possible.”
Sharing Knowledge and Expanding Impact
Elizabeth also shares what she has learned with others. “I keep a lot of stuff in OneNote with links to videos, introductory and more advanced, so if someone asks, I can point them in the right direction.”
She hopes to streamline additional processes such as OneCard reconciliation and is eager to connect directly to her university’s operational data store. At the same time, she is mindful of larger system changes in progress. “Our university is moving to Anaplan, but that’s four to five years out. I need to work efficiently now. What I learned at the Data Summit lets me do that.”
Why the Data Summit Matters
Elizabeth’s story highlights what makes the Data Summit so valuable. It helps professionals uncover insights hidden in siloed systems, disconnected spreadsheets, and processes that don’t talk to one another. The Summit equips participants to turn that fragmented information into meaningful reports and deliver immediate value while preparing for the future.
As she summed it up: “There’s so much data sitting out there that’s just not used. Once you put it all together, you really have a powerful tool.”
Join Us This December
The next NACCU Data Summit takes place this December. Join your peers to learn practical techniques and leave with strategies you can put to work immediately. Elizabeth’s experience shows the potential in your data and the difference the Summit can make.
