CASE STUDY
Carnegie Mellon University GRAAD Project
INTRODUCTION
In an award nominated project, M&S Consulting designed a solution to streamline and enhance Carnegie Mellon University’s graduate applicant data management. The Graduate Applications and Admissions Data (GRAAD) Project significantly improves the university’s ability to make data driven decisions and advance its strategic initiatives.
The Challenge
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh consists of seven colleges that relied on sixteen separate systems for managing graduate applications. Each system asked different demographic and career questions, collected inconsistent responses, and stored data in varying formats. Leadership wanted all applicant information available in one location and one format so analysis and reporting could be consistent and reliable.
Work We Did
The colleges agreed to collect a common data set, but large variations remained in data structure. Our team partnered with staff in the provost’s office and across colleges to design a modern data pipeline using DBT and Snowflake. Key steps included
Extracting data from every application system
Transforming that data in multi step DBT models to align fields and resolve ambiguities
Loading the unified data into Snowflake for fast querying
Presenting a business friendly layer to Tableau for self service reporting
Solutions
- Implemented a reusable ETL pipeline powered by DBT and Snowflake
- Standardized definitions and mappings for all applicant fields across colleges
- Delivered a curated dataset ready for Tableau dashboards without manual cleanup
Results & Impact
The GRAAD system went live in June 2024. University leadership now has a comprehensive view of applicant trends, enabling improved planning, outreach, recruiting, marketing, and budgeting. The project is nominated for CMU’s Andy Award in the Teamwork and Collaboration category.
“Before the M&S solution, all of our graduate application and admission data had been very decentralized, and that was identified as a risk for the University,” said Mark Chimel, Assistant Director for Institutional Research and Analysis at Carnegie Mellon and the university’s GRAAD project manager. “The systems didn’t talk to each other, and they didn’t talk to a central system.”
“M&S realized our admissions managers have full-time responsibilities here and varying depths of a tech background. They were very professional and patient in understanding when those folks were busy or needed extra assistance in providing what was needed from them,” said Chimel. “M&S made the necessary shifts in the workflow, worked with the university, and kept to the timeline despite it all and delivered on time. We’re delighted with the result.”
Conclusion &
Next Steps
With unified applicant data at their fingertips, CMU can make data driven decisions that shape future graduate programs. As new requirements emerge, our team is poised to extend the pipeline and reporting so the university continues to benefit from a single source of truth.