BI and Dashboards for Higher Ed
Reports, dashboards, and AI on the same governed data
Every dashboard runs on the objects your team already built and the permissions you already maintain, so the cabinet, the deans, and the analyst see the same enrollment number. No extract, no second security model, no third tool.
Trusted by institutions publishing dashboards to cabinets, boards, and the whole campus
The situation
Every new capability arrives as another system to manage
The reporting platform was bought for reporting. Then a BI tool arrived with its own extract, model, and permissions. Now leadership is asking about AI, and the first question is which of the two it should read from.
01
The license was the cheap part
Buying the tool took a week. Getting reliable data into it took two semesters and a consultant.
02
A dashboard on last night's extract is a dashboard about yesterday
During registration or the deposit deadline, the number is wrong by the time anyone opens it.
03
Two systems, two definitions, one uncomfortable meeting
Reporting counts enrollment one way, the dashboard another. Only one can go in the board packet.
04
The dashboard has its own security, and it is the second one you maintain
When somebody changes jobs, the ERP, the reporting layer, and the BI tool all need to hear about it. The one that misses it holds the president's dashboard.
05
Every system is another security model to maintain
Separate logins, permissions, and reviews for every role change. For a small IT team, that cost recurs.
Dashboard Designer
The BI layer is already in Argos
Dashboard Designer builds dashboards in the browser, against the same governed objects your reporting already runs on. No separate extract, no modeling layer to maintain, and no second definition of enrollment to keep in sync with the first.
It is built for the people who understand their data rather than for a BI specialist, so the office that owns the metric can own the dashboard. Publish into your campus portal or an ERP page, and it opens on a phone without anyone building a mobile version.
- Included with Argos at no additional cost
- Built by the office that owns the number, not by a central BI team
- Against your ERP directly instead of an extract you maintain
- Embedded in your portal, or shared as a link
- Readable on a phone by default
“It has given us the ability to put this data into easy-to-read dashboards which are utilized by our Board of Trustee Members and the La Salle Community.”
Lisa Willie · Executive Coordinator, Enrollment Services · La Salle University
Argos X
The follow-up question never leaves the platform
Every good dashboard produces one. Enrollment is down four percent, and the next question is where, among whom, and compared to when. A dashboard is a fixed view, and the follow-up is by definition outside it. In a two-tool setup that question goes back to whoever owns the other system.
Explore Data and Pivot Mode let anyone reshape the underlying result without writing a query or altering the object. Argos Data Agent answers the follow-up in plain language against the same governed data, showing the SQL so the answer can be checked before it travels.
- Pivot Mode for reshaping a result without altering the object behind it
- Explore Data for multi-column filtering, sorting, and export to Excel or CSV
- Argos Data Agent for plain-language follow-ups, with the SQL visible
- Dashboard Designer, Explore Data, and Pivot Mode are included with Argos at no additional cost
- Argos Data Agent is licensed separately, in Core and Advanced tiers
“The access to better data has unlocked creativity within our teams. People are now asking, 'How could this be better?'”
Colin Hilton-MacFarlane · AVP for Institutional Research and Effectiveness · Stetson University
One security model
The dashboard for the president runs on the security you already have
Every BI tool arrives with its own users, roles, and permissions, and every one of them has to be kept in step with the ERP and with each other. The dashboard that reaches the cabinet is the one where a stale permission does the most damage.
Argos X dashboards run under the security model your team already established in Argos. A dashboard built for deans is permissioned to deans, in the same place the reports are. Reaching a new audience means granting access, with no second security setup.
- One permission model for the report, the dashboard, and the plain-language answer
- Folder and DataBlock permissions your team already maintains, applied to dashboards without a second setup
- No ERP seat or login required, with unlimited users under the institutional license
- One directory integration, one HECVAT, one security review for all of it
Dashboards on the objects you already have
No extract, no copy, no second security model. Dashboards run on the same governed DataBlocks as your reports. See one in a demo.
Related
Dashboards are one output of a larger layer
Argos Data Agent
Plain-language questions on the same governed data, with the SQL shown.
Argos
Reports, dashboards, and data exploration from one governed source.
Reporting for Higher Education
The governed layer dashboards are built on.
AI for Higher Education
When the answer should be a question rather than a standing view.
How it fits
Where this sits relative to what you already run
With a general-purpose BI tool
Plenty of institutions run them and they are good at visualization. What they do not do is reach into a student system, resolve your institution's definitions, or run under the permissions your team already maintains. That work has to happen somewhere. Doing it once inside Argos is the difference between running one platform and running two.
With Ellucian Insights
Insights aggregates data across Ellucian products on a managed data layer. Argos works directly against your own environment, covering dashboards through Dashboard Designer, conversational analysis through Argos Data Agent, compliance output, and scheduled delivery, on definitions your team controls. Most institutions run both.
Versus your current process
Today a dashboard request becomes a data project, the published view runs on an extract, and every new audience means another copy. The cause sits in the layer underneath the dashboard.
Trust and security
You take security seriously. So do we.
The Trust Center is published and the HECVAT is available on request, so a reviewer can start before anyone schedules a call.
Permissions are enforced, never overridden
A dashboard can only be opened by someone your team has permissioned to open it, and a view is built for the role that needs it instead of relying on a filter someone might remove.
Authentication
LDAP group sync, SAML SSO, and permission tiers, configured once at the platform layer.
Production performance
Query queuing and priority keep dashboard refreshes from competing with the transactional system during peak.
Data handling
FERPA-aligned practices and encryption in transit. For Argos Data Agent, masking or redaction of sensitive fields.
Embedding
Published into your portal under your existing authentication, with access managed in the same place as your reports.
Documentation
Trust Center, and a HECVAT (the standard higher education security questionnaire) on request.
Frequently asked questions
Questions we get asked first
Can dashboards be embedded in our portal?
Yes. They open under your existing authentication.
Is the data live or extracted?
Against your systems directly. There is no separate extract of your own to schedule or reconcile.
How is dashboard access controlled?
Through the same folder and DataBlock permissions your team already maintains in Argos. A dashboard built for deans is permissioned to deans. There is no separate security setup for the dashboard layer.
Do dashboard viewers need an ERP seat?
No. Licensing is per institution with unlimited users, and viewing does not require an ERP login.
Who builds the dashboards?
Whoever owns the metric, in a browser. It does not have to be IT, though your team still controls the objects underneath.
Does Dashboard Designer cost extra?
No. Dashboard Designer, Explore Data, and Pivot Mode are included with Argos at no additional cost and are backward compatible with objects you have already built. Argos Data Agent is licensed separately, in Core and Advanced tiers.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, without building a separate mobile version.
Can people export what they see?
Yes, to Excel or CSV through Explore Data, within the permissions that apply to them.
What happens when someone asks a question the dashboard does not answer?
Pivot Mode and Explore Data reshape the underlying result. Argos Data Agent answers it in plain language against the same governed data.
How does this coexist with Ellucian Insights?
Insights aggregates across Ellucian products on a managed data layer. Argos runs against your own environment on your team's definitions. Most institutions run both.
How long until we have a dashboard in production?
If the underlying object exists, quickly. If it does not, building the object is the work, and Professional Services scopes it.
How many systems does this consolidate?
Operational reporting, dashboards, and plain-language questions run on one set of governed objects with one permission model, one directory integration, and one security review. For a small IT team, that means one system to secure instead of three.
We already own a BI tool. Is this a rip and replace?
No, and you do not have to decide on day one. Argos can be the governed source your existing dashboards read from while you evaluate, which is how several institutions run it. What tends to happen is that new dashboards get built in Argos because the data is already there, and the question answers itself over a year or two.
Do we still need a separate BI tool?
Many institutions find they do not. Dashboard Designer, Explore Data, and Pivot Mode cover what most campuses bought a BI tool for, and they run on the objects your reporting already uses, so there is no extract to maintain and no second definition to reconcile. Where a general-purpose tool still earns its place is blended data from outside the institution, or an analyst team already deep in it. Tell us what yours is used for and we will be straight about whether this replaces it.
Can we prove it on one dashboard before committing?
Yes. Pick the dashboard your leadership keeps asking for and build it on the objects you already have; the second one reuses the same objects and the same permissions.
Who will we be working with?
People who have done your job. Our consultants and support staff came from campus IT and institutional reporting before they worked here, because higher education is the only sector we build for. Support is in-house, with no outsourced agents, and it is the thing customers raise unprompted more than anything else about us.
What does it cost, and can we talk to an institution like ours?
Licensing is per institution rather than per user, and price is driven by institution size and product mix rather than headcount. Argos, Argos X, FormFusion, and IntelleCheck all carry unlimited users and unlimited connections, with no per-connection or per-report charge and nothing billed for people who only read reports. The one exception is Argos Data Agent Advanced, which is licensed per seat. Data Agent Core is unlimited. Tell us your FTE and which products you are weighing and we will give you a real figure on the first call, then put you in touch with an institution of roughly your size and ERP. Ask them about support while you are there. It is in-house, and it is the thing customers raise unprompted more than anything else.
Next step
The dashboard that never got built
Every institution has one that stalled on the data work underneath it. Get a demo and see it built on governed objects.
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