At UTS, subject coordinators can request access to use the subject dashboard. Hosted on the Microsoft PowerBI platform, it is a tool that shows high-level subject information, allowing users to discover unique trends within their cohort. The dashboard provides a valuable insight into the diversity of UTS student cohorts, which can help inform inclusive design decisions.
The dashboard visualises a comprehensive range of subject information, including enrolment trends, student backgrounds (domestic vs international), gender, and basis of admission (i.e. pathway into university). It is interactive and lets you filter between different categories, allowing for more in-depth analysis. In this post, we will share some case studies from UTS academics who have used the dashboard and how it has enhanced their teaching practice.
Kay Donovan – FASS
In a recent workshop about the subject dashboard, we heard from Kay Donovan, subject coordinator in Strategic Communication in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She shared some of the insights she discovered through her use of the dashboard when comparing her cohorts for the subject 52660 Emergent Public Relations across 2024 and 2025.
It makes me think about how I might change my teaching strategies, particularly in the tutorial activities.
Kay Donovan
In the previous year, her cohort predominantly comprised students coming straight from the HSC. However in 2025, the cohort make-up has shifted so that continuing students are now the largest group in the cohort. Seeing this trend shift has allowed Kay to adapt her teaching for the upcoming Autumn session – in this case, she can plan group work exercises that pair new students with continuing students, enabling more meaningful knowledge exchange. Through the dashboard, she can also identify what the students are majoring in, which can assist in planning teaching content throughout the Autumn session.
Gavin Paul – FEIT
Gavin Paul coordinates two subjects in the Spring session, and has used the dashboard for several years. The dashboard helps him compare trends across the subjects and use that information to adapt his teaching practices.
Canvas is great for holding the marks and relating it to assessment content, but this [the dashboard] is the best way to see things from a high level
Gavin Paul
Seeing enrolment trends has allowed Gavin to prepare teaching content more effectively – for example, observing an increase in student numbers in one of his subjects has meant that he can organise more tutors and projects to meet the needs of the growing cohort.
Amara Atif – FEIT
Amara Atif, Lecturer in the School of Computer Science, has used the subject dashboard in recent years. Having access to the dashboard has helped her adopt a data-driven approach to designing teaching strategies.
One of the key things that we appreciate as educators about having a diverse cohort is the richness of the perspectives they bring to the learning experience.
Amara Atif
As a coordinator, the subject dashboard has allowed Amara to identify the diverse nature of her cohort earlier in the teaching session, therefore enabling her to adapt her teaching practices in an inclusive way for everyone in the cohort.
Data from the dashboard can also challenge assumptions about students’ prior learning. In conjunction with results from the early student feedback survey, Amara was able to provide additional resources for students who wanted to learn more about specific Australian industry case studies. Comparing data in the dashboard with trends from the Canvas New Analytics feature can also support deeper analysis and help with making changes on the fly.
Amara, Gavin and Kay share more about their use of the subject dashboard in the video below:
More information
If you want to get started with using the subject dashboard, log an IT Service Request on Service Connect. You can also watch the video below for an overview of the tool.