Using Express Reports to Make Data-Informed Decisions

Using Express Reports to Make Data-Informed Decisions

Express Reports provide valuable data, but the real impact comes from how you use that data to make decisions. This article walks through common questions you can answer using Express Reports and how to turn your data into actionable insights.

If you are new to Express Reports, start here: Interpreting Express Reports

Start with the right question

Before analyzing a report, identify what you want to learn. Strong questions lead to more useful insights.

Examples:

• How many students are we reaching through events?
• Which organizations are driving the most engagement?
• Are certain student populations underrepresented?
• Which events are most effective?

Use Event Attendees reports to measure reach

Event Attendees Reports help you understand how many students are participating in events and who those students are.

What to look for:

• Total number of attendees
• Repeat attendance (students appearing multiple times)
• Demographic breakdowns (class year, residency, etc.)

Decisions you can make:

• Identify whether your events are reaching a broad or narrow audience
• Adjust programming to target underrepresented groups
• Evaluate whether engagement goals are being met

Use filters and PivotTables to focus your data

Raw data can be difficult to interpret at scale. Use Excel tools like filters and PivotTables to summarize and explore your data.

Examples:

• Filter by Host Organization to evaluate a specific group
• Group attendance by event name to compare turnout
• Break down attendees by demographics to identify trends

PivotTables are especially helpful for summarizing large datasets into clear totals and comparisons.

Use Student Members reports to understand involvement

Student Member Reports help you evaluate how students are involved across organizations.

What to look for:

• Number of students in leadership roles
• Distribution of roles across class years or demographics
• Overlap in membership across organizations

Decisions you can make:

• Identify gaps in leadership representation
• Support organizations with low membership or leadership participation
• Understand how involvement varies across student populations

Use Organization Engagement reports for high-level trends

Organization Engagement Reports provide a summary of engagement at the organization level without individual user data.

What to look for:

• Number of events hosted
• Total unique attendees
• Engagement percentages (if available)

Decisions you can make:

• Identify which organizations are most active or engaged
• Compare engagement across organizations
• Allocate resources or support based on activity levels

Understand the limitations of your data

Express Reports use current demographic data, not point-in-time data. This means demographic fields reflect who users are today, not who they were at the time of participation.

Keep this in mind when analyzing trends over longer time periods.

Turn insights into action

Data is most valuable when it leads to action. After reviewing your reports, consider:

• What trends stand out?
• What gaps or opportunities do you see?
• What changes should you make to improve engagement?

Use your findings to guide programming decisions, allocate resources, and improve the student experience.

Next steps

• Interpreting Express Reports