{"id":223,"date":"2026-04-30T15:59:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/?page_id=223"},"modified":"2026-04-30T15:59:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:59:56","slug":"data-change-management","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/data-management\/data-change-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Change Management"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- Inserted by Dropdownizer plugin. Forces video embeds contained in dropdowns to have a size --><style>.dropdownizer__dropdown iframe { width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; }<\/style>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What is Data Change Management?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data Change Management is the formal process used to catalog and communicate modifications to the way we collect, manage, and report institutional data. It involves a coordinated effort between Business Data Stewards, Business and Technical Custodians, Data Analysts, and the Data Advisory Group to ensure that shifts in our data management practices are documented and communicated to the appropriate groups across the College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why It Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data management and reporting is not static; it evolves alongside federal or state requirements, the College\u2019s mission, and technological needs. Cataloging changes to our data tracking and collection methods is vital to maintain data integrity. Without a formalized process, what seems like a small change to a business metric, could inadvertently impact a critical report's information. By formalizing these shifts, Vassar ensures that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Consistency is maintained<\/strong>: We track not just that a change occurred, but why it was made and how it affects existing definitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Transparency is guaranteed<\/strong>: Stakeholders across the College remain informed, breaking \"data silos\" and ensuring trust within our data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reporting Compliance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the most critical roles of Data Change Management is safeguarding Vassar\u2019s federal and state reporting obligations. The College is required to provide accurate, timely data to agencies like the National Center for Education Statistics (via IPEDS) and for the Common Data Set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When reporting requirements change\u2014such as new federal definitions for race and ethnicity or updated financial aid categories\u2014our change management process ensures these updates are systematically integrated into our systems. This oversight of change prevents reporting errors, ensures continued eligibility for federal funding, and maintains Vassar\u2019s reputation for institutional excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Frequency Asked Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary><strong>What type of changes should I be including?<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most importantly, we want to track changes that impact critical College reporting and changes that have dependencies across multiple departments at Vassar.&nbsp; Though not limited to these, a few examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Race \/ Ethnicity data collection changes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Race \/ Ethnicity calculated classifications<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New IPEDS reporting metrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>College Board application changes affecting what data is collected or when it\u2019s collected<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Federal or State laws impacting Financial Aid calculations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New enrollment statuses that could impact Active Student totals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Business definitions that directly impact FTE totals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary><strong><strong>Who will see the catalog of changes?<\/strong><\/strong><\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The changes captured by the collection form will be available in a Google Sheet with access control tied to various roles in Data Governance.&nbsp; The changes will not be open to the public, or even the wider Vassar community without consent. As changes are submitted, an optional step to push a message directly to all Business Data Stewards notifying them of the change is possible.&nbsp; From there, upon the discretion of the Business Data Steward, the message could be forwarded to others you might be interested in their area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As well as continued access to the changes from the Google Sheet, the Data Advisory Group will review and discuss changes that have been submitted since the last meeting, allowing the group to gain clarity if needed, and pass along important information to their respective departments.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary><strong><strong><strong>How will I remember to do this?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is where we all work together to shift the culture of sending emails to individuals, to formalizing the process of central collection and distribution of change.&nbsp; Helping the College by advocating for Data Change Management will improve the adoption and overall effectiveness of the product. The Data Advisory Group, through its Data Governance Newsletter will also be a constant reminder of the process, its importance, and an aid in boosting adoption.&nbsp; As we progress, you\u2019ll find yourself asking the question when impactful changes are planned, \u201cCould this change we are implementing have consequences elsewhere at the College?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:46px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Data Change Management collection form can be accessed below.&nbsp; It\u2019s open to Business Data Stewards, Business Data Custodians, and Data Analysts.&nbsp; If you are not in one of these <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/roles-responsibilities\/\">Data Governance roles<\/a>, but feel having access to enter changes is important, please reach out to the <a href=\"mailto:dataadvisorygroup@vassar.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Data Advisory Group<\/a> to discuss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSd8FWvcLEUstw873RAkvcxhANEcRbd-dt4LhHYyNKb4C1dKZQ\/viewform\">Data Change Management \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Data Change Management? Data Change Management is the formal process used to catalog and communicate modifications to the way we collect, manage, and report institutional data. It involves a coordinated effort between Business Data Stewards, Business and Technical Custodians, Data Analysts, and the Data Advisory Group to ensure that shifts in our data [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":0,"parent":22,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-223","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/223\/revisions\/245"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/data-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}