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Leveraging Data Insights with Explorance Blue: A Case Study from the University of Newcastle
Written by Explorance.

As more and more higher education institutions understand the power of data, they also recognize the need for a dedicated feedback platform.
At the University of Newcastle, the efforts of the team led by Meagan Morrissey, Manager of Student and Staff Insights, bring to life the intersection of data, insights, and actionable strategies.
Their work demonstrates how institutions can use platforms like Explorance Blue and tools like MLY to generate meaningful feedback and improve students’ and staff’s experiences.
This article will explore the insights from Morrissey’s interview and discuss how her team uses these technologies to make data-driven decisions that benefit the entire university community.
Understand The Role of the Staff Insights Team
The University of Newcastle assembled a dedicated Staff Insights team to initiate a shift to data-backed decision-making. This team works closely with students and staff, collecting their feedback and using it to shape decisions that improve various parts of the university.
Morrissey describes their mission as centered around extracting valuable insights from survey data. “Our goal is to transform the data we collect from surveys into actionable insights for staff and students,” she explains.
Recognize Explorance Blue as a Catalyst for Change
Explorance Blue has quickly become an essential tool for the Staff Insights team. The University of Newcastle has a diverse student population with issues that can be difficult to analyze.
Morrissey emphasizes the platform’s role in streamlining feedback. Using Explorance Blue, the university can gather, analyze, and create visual student feedback reports.
Morrissey’s team can now help create strategies using the data they collect to better their academic and social experiences by identifying trends and patterns in the feedback.
Collecting Insights for Impactful Change
Data gathering is only the beginning for the Staff Insights team. Morrissey describes their approach to developing insights as a comprehensive process that includes:
- Data Extraction: Using Explorance Blue to gather student feedback reliably and without friction.
- Reporting: Analyzing the data and pulling detailed reports to be shared with executive members and staff.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Student feedback data promotes objective discussion points that people can discuss without bias.
- Action Plans: The university can create valuable action plans to convert the data gathered into informed decisions and subsequent discussions.
Morrissey’s team can now break down data silos and use the information to make meaningful improvements across the university—changes that students can see and appreciate.
Address Challenges with Feedback
Feedback collection presents its own set of challenges. Morrissey mentions hurdles such as improving response rates and personalizing surveys. Fortunately, Explorance Blue addresses these issues with next-gen functionalities.
By customizing survey designs for each segment and creating targeted outreach sequences, the Staff Insights team can gather data at scale and get students used to providing feedback regularly.
The team also emphasizes communicating the impact of feedback to participants. By showcasing the decisions made based on survey data, students and staff can be shown how their input leads to tangible changes.
“People are more likely to share their feedback when they know it’s being used to make meaningful improvements,” Morrissey says.
Visualize Data Using MLY
Explorance Blue is a crucial tool for gathering feedback, but the Staff Insights team uses MLY to create helpful visualizations to engage their key stakeholders. This practice has become a key step in their process.
By providing graphs and dashboards to display trends in student satisfaction and key performance indicators, Morrissey’s team can ensure the insights are easy to understand and to act on.
Morrissey explains, “MLY allows us to insert data into discussions productively. It helps stakeholders quickly grasp the data’s story, which is essential for driving decisions.”
Create a Student-Centric Experience
The University of Newcastle prioritizes student-centric solutions, using insights from Explorance Blue and MLY to tackle current challenges and forecast future needs, ensuring it results in exceptional student experiences.
The team’s work has improved efficiency across all student services. Recurring, scheduled data analysis exercises allow the university staff to pinpoint student experience gaps and resolve them quickly.
Morrissey’s team’s work is rooted in collaboration. Their success is key to implicating various stakeholders, including faculty, administrative staff, and executive leadership.
“Collaboration is at the heart of our work,” says Morrissey. “We work hand-in-hand with staff and leadership to ensure our insights align with the university’s priorities.”
International Students: A Unique Focus
Most of the Staff Insights team’s work involves international students, who comprise a substantial percentage of the university’s population. Their feedback provides unique perspectives that are invaluable for creating inclusive and supportive environments.
Through targeted surveys and detailed analysis, the team ensures that the voices of international students are heard. These efforts have led to initiatives that improve academic success, social integration, and overall well-being.
The team can highlight the voices of international students by devising personalized surveys targeted at specific segments of the student population. These efforts have created significant initiatives to improve academic success, social integration, and well-being.
Aim for Continuous Improvement
The work of the Staff Insights team is never-ending. As Morrissey points out, there is always room for improvement in the student experience. Students’ needs and expectations constantly evolve, and tools like Explorance Blue and MLY are essential for tracking them.
Moreover, using these tools has allowed the University of Newcastle to rapidly scale its survey creation and execution, instilling a feedback culture. Students have noticed, and their feedback has become more specific with each survey.
“We’re not just gathering data to check a box,” Morrissey says. “Our goal is to turn that information into real improvements for our students, staff, and the university .”
Lessons from the University of Newcastle’s Feedback Revolution
The progress made by Morrissey’s team provides a compelling look into how institutions can use tools like Explorance Blue and MLY to drive meaningful change.
At the University of Newcastle, the Staff Insights team demonstrates the transformative power of data-driven decision-making. By transforming feedback into action, they ensure the university delivers the best student experience, inspiring others in the education sector to follow suit.
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