Data Governance Structure

The Chancellor’s Cabinet sponsors the Data Governance program activities. These leaders are responsible for:

• setting institutional priorities and strategy,
• championing the program,
• approving policies and allocating resources,
• driving cultural and behavioral change, and
• receiving performance updates on data governance initiatives.

The executive sponsor is the senior-level champion who drives alignment, secures resources, and ensures strategic success. The chief information officer (CIO) serves in this role for the Data Governance Program at NCCU. The CIO:

• promotes buy-in through communication, change management, and key performance indicator (KPI) reporting
• monitors progress, mitigates risks (e.g., resistance), and demonstrates return on investment (ROI), and
• Links data governance to university priorities (e.g., student success, compliance) and communicates its business value to leadership.

This team is entrusted with guiding and supervising all facets of data governance at North Carolina Central University. With a key emphasis on data integrity, security, and usability, the core team establishes well-defined foundational guidelines and procedures to effectively govern the lifecycle of data assets. This team serves as the glue for NCCU's data governance program. Their main goals include:

• completing a campus-wide data governance assessment,
• formulating comprehensive data governance requirements,
• creating annual program roadmaps,
• assisting in customizing the roadmap and implementation timeline with the council and data stewards, and
• selecting a customized enterprise solution that caters to NCCU’s campus-wide data governance requirements.

The Data Governance Council (DGC) comprises senior university officials (or their designees) with planning, policy, and management responsibilities for defined segments of institutional data. This council is accountable for helping ensure data is governed safely, responsibly, and in compliance with applicable regulations. This council:

• endorses and supports data governance initiatives,
• assigns and manages resources,
• communicates priorities across departments,
• assists in approving data-related guidelines, standards, and policies,
• assists in leading the institutional data governance strategy,
• engages with stewards and data users,
• assists in overseeing data classification, training, and compliance, and
• monitors progress and key metrics

Data Stewards are University officials with direct operational responsibility for data management and quality. Data owners identify this group. Data Stewards’ responsibilities include:

• forming agile teams for a data strategy initiative,
• executing initiatives from the roadmap,
• handling data inquiries and training staff,
• supporting data quality improvements,
• recommending policy or standard updates to the DGC,
• promoting data literacy and education, and
• documenting and defining each data element.

Software stewards are campus individuals who play a central role in shaping and implementing data governance practices related to software on our campus. Their responsibilities include:

• assessing proper utilization of existing software prior to procuring new or replacement tools.
• guiding departments in requesting and purchasing software through standardized review processes.
• identifying duplicate contracts, overlapping functionality, or redundant tools to enable streamlining and cost savings.
• ensuring all purchases align with responsible fiscal practices and adhere to budgetary constraints.
• facilitating training programs for new software adoption and ongoing updates.
• prioritizing reliability, security, and regulatory compliance in all software selection decisions.
• promoting campus-wide awareness and adherence to software procurement policies.

Office of Institutional Research and Analysis (OIRA) and IT and campus-wide technical staff (Enterprise Systems Council, IT Security Council and Student Data Mart) who:

• enforce data policies and processes
• establish and enforce security standards
• manage data quality and metadata
• establish enterprise standards
• promote best practices and compliance
• provide secure infrastructure
• maintain system availability and performance
• manage user access privileges
• implement and enforce information controls
• participate in governance priority setting
• audit classification, storage, and handling policies

Data users are subject matter experts (SMEs) responsible for operational-level data management. They:

• maintain data accuracy, consistency, and reliability
• help ensure compliance with policies and standards
• promote data literacy and train peers
• identify root-cause data quality issues
• recommend improvements to Trustees and Stewards
• collaborate with other governance members to support continuous improvement

Data users are critical to helping ensure NCCU’s decisions are based on reliable, accurate, and high-quality data.