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Use Guidelines

Access to Academic Analytics tools is provided to approved users who have completed the credentialing process, which outlines constructive and unacceptable uses of this data. These constructive and unacceptable uses of Academic Analytics data are provided below.

Constructive Uses of Academic Analytics by Academic Leaders  

  • Academic Analytics will be used to provide context for better understanding and facilitate conversations that promote growth of individual faculty members and their respective units.
  • Assist faculty in identifying new funding sources for their research projects.
  • Recognizing faculty achievements by identifying canidates for honorific awards, both internally and externally, with a special focu on those who may be underrecognized.
  • Highlight research successes for communications purposes.
  • Promote teambuilding, nuture interdisciplinary units, and collaborate research networks.
  • Identify faculty mentors with mentees to support faculty in achieving or regaining high levels of research productivity.
  • Support analysis of departmental and programmatic strengths and weaknesses in comparison to peer departments during divisional or departmental reviews.
  • Identify external reviewers for program assessments, tenure & promotion, and other similar needs.
  • Identify areas where a unit could benefit from strategic hiring of new faculty members.
  • Provide data to inform strategic decisions regarding hiring, retention, and retirement planning.
  • Penn State may present content from Academic Analytics on internal websites, it will refrain from referencing specific rankings of other institutions by name.
  • In comparison ranking, Penn State will only indicate that a department/major falls within a range of institutions, such as stating it is“in the top 25…”

Unacceptable Uses of Academic Analytics by Academic Leaders 

  • Academic Analytics tools will not be used as a tool for evaluative purposes, including individual faculty evaluations; determining salary or merit increases; and making promotion, tenure, or post-tenure decisions.   
  •  The tool should not be used to create rankings of individuals, units, departments, or institutions.   
  • Data about other departments/institutions may not be shared publicly in ways that could identify any single institution.