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“Schools are beginning to use data and analytics (D&A) to enhance areas such as enrollment, budgeting and fundraising,” according to “Embracing Innovation,” KPMG’s 2015-2016 Higher Education Industry Outlook Survey of 102 senior higher education leaders

An April 2015 white paper from Oracle, “Improving Higher Education Performance with Big Data,” points to diverse use cases that could drive D&A initiatives, from student acquisition and retention to research optimization to operational efficiency.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics backs that up, predicting that employment of statisticians will grow 34 percent between 2014 and 2024. Not surprisingly, the bureau notes, that is “much faster than the average for all occupations.”