Background

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership.

SHEEO’s Strong Foundations and Communities of Practice projects are funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The findings and conclusions associated with these projects do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Strong Foundations

Postsecondary student unit record systems are the primary means for states to collect data and analyze student progress, completions, and outcomes. Since 2010, SHEEO has conducted surveys of state postsecondary data systems to better understand the “state of state postsecondary data.” Multiple iterations of the Strong Foundations survey have documented the content, capacity, and effective use of state postsecondary data systems. The Strong Foundations survey results are now available in customizable form, making it possible to explore metrics collected and how states link state postsecondary data systems with other information.

Communities of Practice

SHEEO’s Communities of Practice project is focused on increasing the capacity and utilization of state postsecondary data systems, and providing a forum for states to work on solutions to common issues with those systems. Through the Communities of Practice project, SHEEO is developing an ongoing network of state postsecondary data users by providing opportunities for members to share information, analyze solutions, and provide assistance to practitioners in other states.