Provide A One-Stop Shopping Location For All Information And Data About Your Institution

I’m excited to share my recently published book chapter from Metrics, Mapping, and Modelling for Masterful Management in Higher Education entitled Provide A One-Stop Shopping Location For All Information And Data About The Institution.

Chapter 3 introduces the Sentient Knowledge Map (SKM) as a true “one-stop shop” for institutional knowledge—bringing key information, data, and resources together through a single, intuitive interface that serves every stakeholder group. Readers learn why consolidating access to comprehensive institutional information improves clarity, efficiency, and service—helping people see the big picture, understand how their role fits, and quickly guide others (especially students) to the right support. The chapter also explains why moving information from implicit (locked in people’s heads or scattered across systems) to explicit (documented, discoverable, and connected) is so powerful, and how the SKM makes that shift practical. Along the way, it covers how to navigate the SKM, how the Universal Institutional Model is structured, how the SKM portal can integrate with back-end systems to streamline access, and how the community-shared resources section expands what an institution can learn and reuse—ultimately strengthening belonging, pride, and institutional effectiveness.

This chapter has a companion video which can be viewed for free on the Higher Education Leadership Learning Online Community web site. Visit the site to see the complete list of our videos.

If you’re involved in higher-ed leadership, strategy, assessment, or institutional research, I’d love for you to take a look at the chapter and add your comments below. If you would like assistance implementing any of the ideas addressed, please compete a consultation request form – the first hour is free for any institution.