Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

When Science Speaks

  1. All Episodes
  2. Leading the Way with Administrative Accountability, with Dr. Stephanie Huie - Ep #11

Leading the Way with Administrative Accountability, with Dr. Stephanie Huie - Ep #11

Dec 21, 2018

All too often higher education gets a bad reputation when it comes to administrative accountability. Imagine what it would look like if more educational institutions championed accountability and transparency. Helping to pave the way in this vital arena is Dr. Stephanie Huie.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Stephanie Huie is one of 7 Executive Officers for the University of Texas System. Responsible for strategy, policy analysis, accountability, and project management for the UT System (235,780 students) and its 14 academic and health institutions with an overall operating budget of $19.5 billion, Dr. Huie is Vice Chancellor for the Office of Strategic Initiatives for The University of Texas System. She leads a team of research and policy analysts to transform data into timely and meaningful information to support UT System initiatives and policy decisions across its 14 institutions with a focus on enhancing insight, transparency, and accountability. Most notably, Dr. Huie oversees the development and implementation of the UT System Dashboard, a web-based business intelligence system that provides analytics for policy decisions and measures productivity and accountability in higher education. She also developed a first-of-its-kind partnership with the United States Census Bureau to obtain national wage data for all UT System graduates. This data is presented through seekUT®, a free online tool that provides post-graduation outcomes of UT System graduates by program of study.

What You’ll Hear On This Episode of When Science Speaks

  • [1:08] Mark introduces his guest, Dr. Stephanie Huie.
  • [3:30] Stephanie talks about tailoring content to your audience.
  • [8:00] What led Stephanie to partner with the US Census Bureau?
  • [12:00] Did Stephanie find any surprises from her demographic research?
  • [15:00] How did Stephanie end up developing a dashboard tool?
  • [19:20] Understanding the cost of higher education.
  • [23:20] The value of championing transparency and accountability.
  • [28:30] Advice for those who want to get engaged in research and policy work.

Connect with Dr. Stephanie Huie

Resources & People Mentioned

Catering to your audience

Have you ever been to a presentation or lecture that completely missed the mark? You know the ones where the presenters misread the room, and they push ahead with jargon and terms that the audience clearly doesn’t understand. Are instances like that inevitable or is there something that the presenter can do to help build a bridge and make it easier on the audience? 

There is hope for professionals like you, a bored and unengaged audience doesn’t have to be inevitable. Dr. Stephanie Huie serves as a prime example of an educator who has successfully communicated her research in an engaging way. When she presents, Dr. Huie works hard to understand where her audience is coming from, tailoring her approach accordingly. Most notably, Dr. Huie was able to communicate her research findings to Texas state legislators in a way that helped them understand the investment of tax dollars in higher education.

The value of focusing on administrative accountability

With the national conversation increasingly focused on higher education and its impact on the workforce, there is no better time to dive into administrative accountability. As tuition costs continue to increase, many state legislatures are paying close attention to the return on investment taxpayers should expect when it comes to state-operated higher education.

Dr. Stephanie Huie has achieved major strides with her work on the UT System Dashboard. This innovative approach provides analytics for policy decisions and measures productivity and accountability in higher education. The goal behind this effort is to help students, parents, and the general public understand some basic facts about the higher education system and the tools necessary to go even deeper with the data if they so chose. Dr. Huie’s work highlights the increased attention that leading administrators are providing when it comes to accountability and transparency.

Get a more detailed exploration of Dr. Huie’s work and hear her valuable insights by listening to this informative episode of When Science Speaks.

Connect With Mark and When Science Speaks


Subscribe to When Science Speaks on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher