This report is a summary of the International Symposium, which was held on January 20, 2017 at the Tokyo International Exchange Center. The theme of the Symposium was “Strategic Utilization of Data and Academic Leadership in Higher Education,” and the presentations addressed the current situation and challenges regarding data utilization and academic leadership in higher education in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To explore ways to advance educational management, the speakers examined four key questions: 1) How can one translate data into actionable information for appropriate decision-making?; 2) How should the results of data analysis be shared with colleagues for evidence-based educational enhancement?; 3) How can “top-down” and“bottom-up” approaches be harmonized to create a climate favorable to the development of quality culture based on evidence?; and 4) What does positive leadership over strategic utilization of data look like?
Based on the key questions stated above, the first lecture reported and analyzed the results of a national survey on institutional management systems in Japanese universities; the second examined the current status of the United Kingdom’s information management systems in higher education; the third presented strategic utilization of data and institutional research at Kingston University; The fourth detailed the information management system in the state of Texas in America; and the fifth reported the relationship between strategic data utilization and academic leadership in Austin Community College. Finally, implications for strategic data utilization and academic leadership in higher education in Japan were discussed among the Symposium participants.