Methodology for Assessing Whether a University Provides Students with Opportunities to Learn Data Skills

Due to workforce demands and changing societal needs, ideally all university students, regardless of major, should have the opportunity to gain some level of data acumen in their university career. This article provides thoughtful methods of analysis for measuring how a higher education institution serves its students in providing opportunities to achieve three different levels of data acumen. Using one institution as a case study, the results show that overall students need more exposure to data analysis skills. The methods presented can be generalized and applied to other institutions worldwide thus contributing to the literature on how to assess students’ attainment of data acumen in their undergraduate experiences.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education
Published
2026-01-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/26939169.2025.2610954
Primary Topic
Statistics Education and Methodologies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Methodology for Assessing Whether a University Provides Students with Opportunities to Learn Data Skills

Thomas Zachariah, Anna E. Bargagliotti, Ben Fitzpatrick, Suzanne Larson et al.
Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education
Statistics Education and Methodologies
article

Methodology for Assessing Whether a University Provides Students with Opportunities to Learn Data Skills

Thomas Zachariah, Anna E. Bargagliotti, Ben Fitzpatrick, Suzanne Larson, Robert Rovetti
article en

Abstract

Due to workforce demands and changing societal needs, ideally all university students, regardless of major, should have the opportunity to gain some level of data acumen in their university career. This article provides thoughtful methods of analysis for measuring how a higher education institution serves its students in providing opportunities to achieve three different levels of data acumen. Using one institution as a case study, the results show that overall students need more exposure to data analysis skills. The methods presented can be generalized and applied to other institutions worldwide thus contributing to the literature on how to assess students’ attainment of data acumen in their undergraduate experiences.

Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education
Loyola Marymount University (US)
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 96%
Statistics Education and Methodologies
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