“Data governance (DG) refers to the overall management of the availability, usability, integrity, and security of the data employed in an enterprise. A sound data governance program includes a governing body or council, a defined set of procedures, and a plan to execute those procedures.” This operational definition, by Margaret Rouse, captures what data governance is all about. I think it is fair to say that in most of Higher Ed, access to data is far less than optimal. The reasons for this are varied.

In “Choosing Governance Models” , Gwen Thomas outlines some of the important things to consider when it comes to data governance.

• Top-down
• Bottom-up
• Center-out, or
• Silo-in

This will provide a window into why access to reliable data in a secure way is a huge issue in higher ed. First and foremost, until recently we have not had any formal governance structures. In many cases, it has been bottom up, decisions were taken in data silos and no one was willing to disturb the status quo. These have resulted in incoherent policies, over control of data and in some cases misinterpretation of the laws governing data. In general there are a lot of users in the institution complaining about problems and not many who are interested in participating in finding a solution.

(more…)