Data governance ensures good stewardship of Yale’s institutional data, coordinating organizational efforts to provide and use high-quality data in a consistent, meaningful, and secure manner. Please note that this site’s focus is solely on Yale’s administrative data. 

Why do we need data governance? Simply put, we are not set up to make the best use of our institutional data. We waste time due to uncertainty about data ownership and definitions. We miss out on chances to make connections across data that would yield insight. We could use more intentional decisions around data access. At the same time, there is momentum to increase data privacy, and Yale is required to ensure we abide by FERPA, HIPAA, and GDPR data privacy laws. A well-established Data Governance structure is a pre-condition of maturing as a data-informed organization. Data Govnernance increases the value of institutional data and improves analytical support for key decision makers as they work to fulfil the University’s mission. Visit our Objectives page to see the six main goals of Data Governance at Yale.

Below are commonly requested resources that you may find helpful: 

• To submit a data request, use this data review request form.
• To find out who the data steward is for each data domain at Yale, visit our Data Stewards page.
• To learn more about the importance of good data stewardship & data governance more broadly, visit our resources & support page.

If you have a question about institutional data or data governance at Yale generally, you can also send an email to Data Governance Lead Kathleen Galo. We are here as a community resource, so please feel free to reach out with any questions.