Purpose
The University of Iowa recognizes the establishment of effective data governance as a continuous and evolving imperative, requiring sustained attention, adaptive strategies, and ongoing refinement. To this end, the Data Warehouse Governance Working Committee (DWGC) is hereby charged with integrating diverse representation from across the university to lead and sustain the institution's data governance initiatives specifically concerning the data warehouse. This collaborative body shall be responsible for cultivating an institutional culture grounded in the shared responsibility for ensuring data quality, data accessibility, and the enforcement of university data warehouse governance polices.
The formation of the DWGC constitutes a significant and foundational step in advancing the University of Iowa's commitment to managing institutional data as a strategic asset. Through diligent governance, collaborative decision-making frameworks, and the adoption of established best practices, the establishment of the DWGC will serve to ensure that university data effectively supports evidence-based decision-making processes, operational excellence, and strategic advancement in alignment with the university's mission.
As the university continues to operate within an increasingly data rich landscape, the DWGC will function as a critical cornerstone in fostering trust within our data systems and positioning the University of Iowa as a leader in data governance within higher education. Through collective effort, the university will leverage the power of its institutional data to advance its core mission and enhance services for its students, faculty, and staff.
Executive Leadership Support and Oversight
The DWGC’s work is authorized and supported by the University of Iowa's executive leadership. The Provost, Chief Information Officer, and Data SPARC (Strategic Plan Action and Resource Committee) recognize institutional data as a strategic asset requiring appropriate governance and oversight.
The DWGC’s recommendations will be considered by executive leadership (Provost, CIO, and Data SPARC) when making decisions about data management practices, investments in data governance systems or enhancements of current data infrastructure, and when data warehouse related governance policies may influence larger university-wide policies. Executive leadership will provide necessary resources and institutional support to enable the committee to fulfill its charge effectively.
Charge
In alignment with the priorities of the University of Iowa’s Strategic Plan 2022-2027 , the DWGC is charged with addressing, at its discretion, data warehouse spanning domain issues that affect the use and management of the university’s warehoused institutional data assets.
The executive leadership of the University of Iowa charges this committee to:
- Serve as the primary body responsible for establishing and maintaining data governance frameworks for the university's data warehouse assets.
- Develop and recommend policies that enhance data quality, accessibility, security, and compliance.
- Report annually to executive leadership on progress, challenges, and recommendations.
- Align data governance initiatives with the university's strategic objectives.
Guiding Principles
In undertaking the work of governing the University of Iowa’s warehoused data, the DWGC will strive to align its work to these guiding principles:
Transparency – It should be clear how and when decisions are made, and processes are created.
Consistency - All governing decisions should be applied consistently across the data warehouse.
Accountability - Progress toward institutional data management goals will be measured, tracked and in compliance with policies, procedures, current data governance best practices.
Agility - All processes and requirements should be adaptable to the ever-changing data and technology environment.
Change Management - The successful implementation of new processes and requirements will involve a proactive and concerted change management strategy engaging university staff. The committee recognizes that effective data governance is an iterative process requiring ongoing attention, adaptation, and refinement.
Structure and Membership
The DWGC will comprise representatives from the institutional data domains within the university data warehouse, the Data SPARC, Administrative Information Systems (AIS), and other units that have a vested interest in the governance of data contained within the University of Iowa data warehouse. The composition of the DWGC will reflect institutional-level knowledge spanning functional data areas. By bringing together diverse stakeholders from across the university, the DWGC will foster a culture of shared responsibility for data quality, accessibility, and security.
The DWGC will meet regularly to examine data within the data warehouse, define data elements, resolve data-related issues, and create recommendations. These recommendations will be provided to the Provost, AIS leadership, the Chief Information Officer, and the Data SPARC committee for their consideration regarding policy, strategic and sustainable investments in systems/tools, and data management practices.
The DWGC will provide annual progress reports to the larger warehouse user group and executive university leadership to highlight process and policy improvements that result from their collaborative work. The committee will review this charge annually and recommend updates to maintain alignment with university strategic objectives and evolving data governance needs.
To better prioritize data governance efforts and ensure efficient use of resources the DWGC will appoint a steering committee that is comprised of current DWGC members. The composition of the initial steering committee is as follows:
- Shawna Saad – Office of the Registrar (Co-chair)
- Brandelle Unkrich – Tippie College of Business (Co-chair)
- Teri Schnelle – Division of Student Life
- Jon Ryan – College of Engineering
- Kathryn Stoltenberg – Office of the Registrar
- Kris Yows – Office of the Provost
- Matt Anson – Administrative Information Systems
Responsibilities and Functions
Functions of the DWGC (or a group charged by the DWGC) may include but are not limited to:
Policy & Standard Development – Work to define and document how we approve and maintain data governance policies, standards (e.g., naming conventions, data quality rules), and guidelines.
Data Stewardship Oversight – Define, document, and formalize data stewardship roles and responsibilities; support and coordinate the activities of data stewards across the organization. Identify common resources that would benefit the work of data stewards.
Data Quality Management - Establish processes for defining, measuring, monitoring, and improving data quality. Oversee, inform, and guide the resolution of data warehouse-level data quality issues.
Data Security & Privacy Collaboration - Collaborate with information security, legal, and privacy teams to ensure data warehouse governance policies align with security and privacy requirements. Provide input on data classification and data handling standards.
Data Warehouse Metadata Management - Define standards and oversee the implementation and maintenance of metadata repositories (e.g., business glossary, data dictionary, data lineage).
Compliance & Risk Management - Ensure data management practices comply with relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies. Identify and mitigate data-related risks.
Data Issue Resolution - Serve as the first escalation point for unresolved data issues, conflicts in data definitions, or policy interpretation disputes as they pertain to warehoused data.
Communication & Awareness - Promote data governance awareness and understanding throughout the organization. Advise on training needs related to data governance.
Monitoring & Reporting – Develop processes to help monitor the effectiveness of the data governance program and report on progress, key metrics, and issues to executive leadership and stakeholders.