Data and Analytics: Readiness Initiative
Think of university data like pieces of a puzzle—each department holds different pieces, but we need to see the complete picture to make informed decisions. Cornell’s fragmented reporting systems make it difficult to gather and analyze data across the university, hindering our ability to gain comprehensive insights. Creating a unified approach to data management and analytics will help Cornell make better-informed decisions that serve our entire community.
Before we can build effective university-wide analytics, we need to establish a common data language and understanding across all units. This foundation will support CEMI’s broader goal of creating integrated, efficient systems that enable data-driven decision-making across Cornell.
Approach
The Data and Analytics team began with discussions facilitated by consultants from Plante Moran to achieve a better understanding of how Cornell describes and uses types of data. Through a series of roundtable discussions with experts from across the university, the team built a shared understanding of the data landscape and needs, focusing on:
- How data flows through the university
- Ways to collect and transform data into actionable insights
- Best practices for data management and analytics
- Methods for creating useful data products
Next Steps
The group is working to create a unified data organization and storage solution that will:
- Standardize data definitions across the university
- Enable comprehensive reporting and analytics
- Support informed decision-making at all levels
- Provide secure, appropriate access to information
Recordings of the Facilitated Roundtables
Recordings of the foundational roundtable discussions are available to Cornell community members (login required).
Foundational Capabilities: Overview and Key Concepts
This session provided a big-picture view of enterprise data and analytics, focused on how data how data is collected, transformed, and analyzed to drive business value and enable data-driven decision-making. Key concepts such as data pipelines, storage, analytics frameworks, and data product development were explained in simple terms with practical examples.
Recordings:
Weill Cornell Medicine NYC and Qatar login
Cornell Ithaca and Tech login
Data Governance: The Right Data to the Right Person at the Right Time
This session looked at how data governance establishes policies, processes, and roles to ensure data is accurate, secure, and ethically used. Key topics such as data quality, compliance, privacy, and access control were explained with practical examples.
Recordings:
Weill Cornell Medicine NYC and Qatar login
Cornell Ithaca and Tech login
Data Management: Data When You Need It, How You Need It
This session provided a comprehensive introduction to how strong data management strategies empower organizations to derive meaningful insights, maintain compliance, and support informed decision-making at every level. Key concepts such as data organization, governance, and lifecycle management were explained using real-world examples.
Recordings:
Weill Cornell Medicine NYC and Qatar login
Cornell Ithaca and Tech login
Data Quality and Observability: Seeing the Forest and the Trees
This session dove into the essentials of data quality practices and observability, emphasizing how these principles empower organizations to maintain trust in their data and make better decisions. their role in delivering reliable and actionable insights. Data quality practices ensure data is accurate, consistent, and fit for purpose, while data observability provides visibility into data workflows, helping to detect and resolve issues in real time. Key concepts were illustrated with practical examples.
Recordings:
Weill Cornell Medicine NYC and Qatar login
Cornell Ithaca and Tech login
Master Data Management: Laying the Foundation for Data Excellence
This session introduced the concept of Master Data Management (MDM) and its importance in improving decision-making, streamlining operations, and supporting data governance. MDM organizes and centralizes key data—such as customer, product, and organizational information— creating a single, reliable source of truth for critical business data across systems. Key concepts were illustrated with practical examples.
Recordings:
Weill Cornell Medicine NYC and Qatar login
Cornell Ithaca and Tech login
Data Platform: Empowering Academic Excellence Through Cloud Data Platform
This session explored the fundamentals of cloud data platforms, highlighting how these platforms streamline the storage, access, and analysis of data, enabling organizations to make smarter, faster decisions. Key concepts were explained with real-world examples.
Recordings:
Weill Cornell Medicine NYC and Qatar login
Cornell Ithaca and Tech login
As common as possible, as different as necessary.
“As common as possible, as different as necessary” is the guiding principle to reflect the CEMI vision for administrative and financial systems across our campuses in Ithaca, New York City, and Doha. Common solutions will allow information to flow seamlessly among campuses, enabling everyone to easily get the answers they need. We’ll maintain unique solutions only where truly necessary.
Shaped by the Cornell Community: Get Involved
Contribute your skills and experience to CEMI (“See Me”). Community members know the current processes and systems best—and what it’s going to take to change how we do things. Please submit the form for your campus to be added to the contributors list and receive quarterly updates:
- Get Involved –Ithaca-supported campuses (Cornell NetID login)
- Get Involved –Weill Cornell Medicine-NYC (CWID-NYC login)
- Get Involved –Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar(CWID-Qatar login)
Visit the Program Teams page to meet more of the Cornell community members shaping the CEMI program.