Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Regional Chamber has announced the launch of its Data Collaborative through the Detroit Drives Degrees program. This initiative aims to enhance insights into student progress and achievement in the Detroit region by utilizing the Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) from the National Student Clearinghouse.

Twelve colleges and universities are participating in this effort: Davenport University, Grand Valley State University, Henry Ford College, Jackson College, Macomb Community College, Monroe County Community College, Oakland Community College, Oakland University, St. Clair County Community College, University of Detroit Mercy, University of Michigan – Dearborn, and Wayne State University.

Meghan Schmidbauer, Senior Director of Detroit Drives Degrees at the Detroit Regional Chamber, stated that "this initiative enables Detroit Drives Degrees and participating colleges to analyze data effectively," which will help highlight areas needing improvement. She emphasized that identifying trends and gaps will allow for strategic resource allocation to initiatives with significant impacts. Schmidbauer also noted that this approach encourages accountability and collaboration across sectors relying on talent from these institutions.

Dr. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, President of Oakland University and Co-chair of the Detroit Drives Degrees Leadership Council, expressed optimism about how this partnership will address critical gaps in regional educational data. "The Detroit Regional Chamber’s leadership of this initiative will ensure the benefits of these data extend beyond the education sector and into a thriving regional workforce," she said.

The Data Collaborative marks a significant partnership between participating colleges and the Chamber. The Chamber annually produces the State of Education and Talent report focusing on key data indicators related to preparing students for future jobs through education. Currently, it is not possible to collectively measure the work of regional colleges due to disparate data sources.

By joining this collaborative effort, participating colleges demonstrate their commitment to student success and align with goals set by the Regional Talent Compact. Each college will submit comprehensive data to the National Student Clearinghouse PDP platform for regional analysis. This will aid in measuring and monitoring how strategies under the Regional Talent Compact are impacting post-high school education access and student success.