The most common cause for many data quality issues is human error.

Although you may question how “The End Around”—a trick play in football—relates to data processing, I think it serves as the perfect metaphor.  First, a quick football lesson: the “end around” is a play where the Quarterback hands off the ball to a Running Back who then hands the ball off to a Wide Receiver who then tries to run down field. The likeliness of this play succeeding is slim because multiple hand-offs make the possibility of error more likely.

The same idea holds true when securing data quality of your prospects.

How many of your admission offices still use a BRC (Business Reply Cards) to gather information from prospective students? Imagine now your prospectives acting as the Quarterback who hand off the card (by mailing back to your admissions dept.) to a student worker (the Running Back) who will now type the information gathered on this card into the computer system (the Wide Receiver).

Many colleges use student workers as their data processors. These students working for minimum wage, many in an environment where they can sit listening to an iPod, are typing in the future of your institution. And even if your student workers are diligent, they still have the tough task of  interpreting handwriting.

Many institutions have tried to cut out the handwriting problem by offering an online form-fill. But if the form doesn’t interact directly with you computer system, you still need to retype data into the system, and you still run the risk of keystroke error.

So what’s the solution?

Develop an online portal that integrates with your data system to replace your BRCs. With an integrated system, you reduce costs because you no longer need to pay student workers, you can assure data quality using series of checks and balances programmed into the form, and you can have data the instant it’s sent (instead of waiting around for BRCs to return).

Check back next time for data related topics!