Charter

Charge

The Academic Unit Liaisons (A-Team) is a standing subcommittee of the Data Governance Committees with the responsibility to identify, prioritize, track, resolve data issues and to minimize redundancy and errors in curriculum and program related data. The A-Team will also assist Data Governance in establishing clear accountability for institutional data elements and enforcing data quality and adherence to standards.

The mission of the A-Team is to establish tools and methodologies to identify data issues as early in the data lifecycle as possible in curriculum and program related data contained in the Ellucian Banner ERP and fed to the UNC System Office Data Marts. This group will work to identify immediate remediation actions for record level quality issues, to identify root causes, and to work with the appropriate parties to determine actionable and sustainable solutions to prevent future issues from occurring.  Issues will be escalated to the Data Stewards Committee or Data Trustees Committee as determined, based on need for resources, policy, or standards changes.

Scope

The A-Team is responsible for identifying and resolving issues in institutional data specific to curriculum and program related information to improve institutional data quality and integrity. Institutional data includes both internal data elements and those data elements used for mandatory external reporting, with particular attention to issues coinciding with the Data Mart snapshot deadlines for Student Data Mart, Human Resources Data Mart, and Finance Data Mart. The A-Team works with the Data Governance committees, Enterprise Data Governance, and administrative and support offices to remediate data, develop and implement solutions, and communicate changes to the campus community.

Institutional data is defined as all data elements that are relevant to the operations, plans, or management of a UNCG academic, financial, or administrative unit, or used in reporting, decision-making, business, or administrative processes. Institutional data refers to data generated to support the academic and administrative functions of the University, including data that falls under external laws or regulations (ex. FERPA, HIPAA, etc.) and may be created at UNCG or imported through various processes into university data systems.  Institutional data includes data in possession of the institution and does not refer to data in transit to the institution, such as research data or purchased data not yet received.

Committee Authority

The A-Team is a decision-making body that identifies data issues related to curriculum and program data and develops solutions to those issues through the development and implementation of Data Quality Tools (DQTs) and/or the review and recommendation for revision of business processes and practices specific to the processing of relevant institutional data. Solutions will be developed in consultation with the appropriate Data Governance body, Unit or Department leadership and appropriate technical support staff, and are in line with institutional data management policies, standards, guidelines, and operating procedures. Recommendations that result in any one of the following conditions must be escalated to Data Governance:

• Need for additional fiscal resources beyond existing budget to support implementation.
• Large scale re-engineering of institutional business processes.
• Requirement for university policy changes.
• Majority voting consensus cannot be reached among committee members.

Committee Membership

Membership of the A-Team is drawn from leadership in the academic units for the express purpose of facilitating the review of unit/department specific curriculum (programs, majors, courses) and instructor data to ensure accuracy in both internal and external reporting. The A-Team is currently chaired by the Associate Director of Institutional Research & Enterprise Data Management and supported by the Data Quality Specialist. 

• Chair – Associate Director of Institutional Research & Enterprise Data Governance
• College of Arts & Sciences | Associate Dean
• Bryan School of Business & Economics | Associate Dean
• School of Education | Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Student Services
• School of Health & Human Sciences | Associate Dean for Academic Administration
• Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering | Department Chair
• School of Nursing | Associate Dean of Academic Programs
• School of Visual & Performance Arts | Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
• Student Success | Associate Vice Provost for Student Success & Retention
• Provost Office | Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
• University Registrar’s Office | University Registrar
• Office of Assessment, Accreditation, & Academic Program Planning | Associate Vice Provost & Director

Responsibilities

• Identify, analyze, and document data quality issues in curriculum and program related institutional data in areas of Student, Human Resources, and Finance in the Banner system and systems into which Banner data is replicated (ex: ODS, Data Marts, Slate, etc).
• Consult with Data Governance, unit or department leadership, and appropriate technical support staff to identify appropriate and sustainable solutions.
• Coordinate with Data Governance, unit or department leadership, and appropriate technical support staff to implement solutions.
• Support the establishment and reinforcement of clear accountability for data quality, integrity, and adherence to data management standards across campus.
• Develop and provide quarterly performance measures to document improvements in data quality and integrity.
• Report on a regular cadence to the Data Governance committees regarding the status of curriculum and program related institutional data quality.
• Support the facilitation of institution-wide communication and collaboration related to data quality and integrity across campus.
• Make recommendations for modification of the Committee charter as needed to reflect campus and environmental changes.

Accountability

Those who agree to serve are expected to:

• Attend each of the regular meetings as well as any other meetings that may be required. If a member is unable to attend a meeting, they should review the meeting notes and provide the Chair with their input to any decision made during the meeting.
• Ensure at least one person from each campus data domain area attends the meetings to represent that area.
• Review in the meeting notes and any action items from regular meetings and be prepared to discuss any assigned items in future meetings.
• Actively contribute to the work necessary for the successful resolution of issues, take ownership of action items in their respective areas of data responsibility and meet committed dates for reporting and completion.
• Document identified issues and relevant information in the issue tracking log.
• Make themselves known and available to members of their respective areas of data responsibility as a key contact person for data quality issues for the purposes of bringing those issues to the A-Team for resolution.
• Serve as a liaison between their respective areas of data responsibility and the A-Team for the purposes of coordinating or facilitating the resolution of issues specific to that area.
• Actively share information about the A-Team’s work including decisions made, questions considered, emerging issues, and opportunities for engagement and feedback with departments, schools, and divisions in a manner that ensures transparency and broad awareness.
• Understand and represent the concerns of their respective departments and campus constituents regarding issues of data quality, integrity, and accountability.

Any A-Team members who find they cannot meet these expectations should talk with the committee chair about appointing a new representative.

The A-Team reports to the Data Governance bodies of Data Trustees and Data Stewards.

Committee Procedures

• The A-Team Chair will establish procedures for capturing minutes, tracking issues and resolutions, communicating decisions, and periodically reviewing and updating the committee charter as needed.
• The A-Team meets monthly throughout the calendar year. Individual meetings may be canceled or postponed by the chair if determined necessary.
• The A-Team chair will serve as the committee liaison to the Data Governance committees.