Power BI in Higher Education: Real Use Cases from Enrollment to Graduation

Description

Higher ed generates massive data across admissions, enrollment, advising, and alumni, often stuck in silos. This session shows how Power BI unifies it through real examples: funnels, trends, retention, student success, faculty workload, and outcomes. Learn to model complex structures, clean data, and build clear visuals you can apply immediately.

Key Takeaways

• Real Use Cases from Enrollment to
• Demo reports use fictionalized sample data.
• The goal is to show how we use Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Power BI at
• Key Challenges in Higher Ed Data
• Power BI in action: 4 Real Use Cases
• Demo- Real Use Cases

My Notes

Action Items

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Resources & Links

Slides

Power BI in Higher Education:
Real Use Cases from Enrollment to
Graduation
Andrew Sommer
Lakshmi Ponnurasan
Let’s Imagine…
A student named Maya.
▪ Applied in Fall 2024
▪ First-generation student
▪ Interested in Biology
▪ Received financial aid
▪ Lives on campus
Her Journey…
She applies
data lives in the CRM (Slate)
She enrolls
now she’s in the SIS (Peoplesoft)
She takes classes
activity tracked in the LMS
She receives financial aid
She changes majors
She graduates
finance system
advising system
alumni system
The Silo Problem (Great Data. Disconnected Systems)
Every stage generates data.
But each stage lives in a different system.
The Silo Problem (Great Data. Disconnected Systems)
Admissions CRM
HR System
Academics
Campus Life & Athletics
Student Information System
(SIS)
Alumni/Advancement System
Learning Management System
(LMS)
Research & Specialized
Programs
Finance System
Fabric & Power BI : Connecting the Lifecycle
Unified single model
Scattered systems
Power BI in Higher Education:
Real Use Cases from Enrollment to
Graduation
Andrew Sommer
Lakshmi Ponnurasan
Andrew Sommer
Chief Data Officer |
Fabric Community Super User
Santhana Lakshmi Ponnurasan
Power BI DataViz 2025 & 2026 World Championship
Finalist
Data Analyst- Institutional Effectiveness
Session Disclaimer
This session reflects our implementation approach.
What works for us may look different in your institution.
Demo reports use fictionalized sample data.
The goal is to show how we use Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Power BI at
Missouri Science and Technology.
Take ideas. Adapt thoughtfully. Build intentionally.
Game Plan
Key Challenges in Higher Ed Data
Modeling in Higher Education
Power BI in action: 4 Real Use Cases
3 Things We Do Intentionally
Bonus: Storytelling Frameworks
Key Challenges
➢ Data spread across multiple systems
➢ Different definitions across departments
➢ Complex cohort and lifecycle logic
➢ Multiple grains of data (student, term, course)
➢ Slowly changing dimensions (major changes, advisor changes)
➢ FERPA / Privacy considerations
Modeling Higher Ed Data
ERPs
CRMs
Student Success
Operations
Demo- Real Use Cases
Admissions & Enrollment Funnel
Demo- Real Use Cases
Retention & Student Success
Demo- Real Use Cases
Faculty & Academic Operations
Demo- Real Use Cases
Graduation & Outcomes
3 Things We Do Intentionally
1️⃣ Documentation Built Into the Report
About the Page
Demo
User Guide
Support
3 Things We Do Intentionally
2️⃣ Consistent Global Filters (Filter Pane)
3 Things We Do Intentionally
3️⃣ Intentional Drill Experience
-Drill Down: From College → Program → Major
-Drill Through: From Retention Summary → Student Detail
-Tooltip pages for context
-No unnecessary navigation clutter
BONUS:
Storytelling Frameworks That You Could Use

1. The Comparison Framework
2. The Martini Glass Framework
   1. The Comparison Framework
   Compare
   (Establish a baseline)
   Contrast
   (Reveal differences)
   Explain
   (Provide reasons/ implications)
   2. The Martini Glass Framework
   Start broad
   Funnel to insight
   Open up for exploration
   Presenters:
   Andrew Sommer
   Don’t forget to rate our session
   and leave some feedback!
   Santhana Lakshmi.P