In today’s fast-paced, data-saturated environment, higher education institutions must evolve from reactive to proactive decision-making. The University of Minnesota (UMN), one of the most respected public university systems in the United States, has risen to this challenge by embracing Google’s Looker Studio to transform how departments collect, visualize, and share website and performance analytics.
Through branded templates, self-serve dashboards, and a culture of knowledge sharing, UMN has created an ecosystem where data is not confined to IT or analytics departments—it’s accessible, understandable, and actionable for communications professionals, faculty, and decision-makers alike.
Key Takeaway
The University of Minnesota implemented Looker Studio to unify its decentralized data analytics environment, making website, marketing, and content performance insights available across colleges and departments. Their use of customizable templates, cross-department collaboration, and accessible training resources has enabled a scalable data culture that promotes efficiency, accountability, and insight-driven strategy across the university system.
About the University of Minnesota
Founded in 1851, the University of Minnesota system includes five campuses, over 68,000 students, and hundreds of departments. Its flagship campus in Minneapolis-St. Paul serves as a research powerhouse and academic hub, offering thousands of programs across disciplines.
The university’s marketing, communication, academic, and administrative units regularly engage with diverse audiences—prospective students, current students, alumni, faculty, researchers, and external partners. Each unit requires timely, accurate data to measure engagement, website performance, and user behavior.
However, until recently, data reporting was a fractured experience, with inconsistent tools, metrics, and capabilities across departments.
The Challenge: Fractured Analytics and Inaccessible Insights
Before Looker Studio, data analytics across UMN faced multiple hurdles:
Disparate Tools and Silos: Departments often relied on their own Google Analytics (UA and later GA4) properties, spreadsheets, or third-party tools.
Lack of Standardization: KPIs and terminology varied widely, making university-wide reporting and cross-department comparisons difficult.
Manual Workload: Staff manually built static reports or exported GA data, often requiring technical help for simple questions.
Low Accessibility: Non-technical users found platforms like GA4 unintuitive and hard to navigate, limiting adoption and insight generation.
This fragmented approach limited the university’s ability to analyze performance holistically, respond to issues quickly, and communicate clearly with stakeholders.
The Solution: Democratizing Analytics with Looker Studio
Recognizing these gaps, University Marketing and Communications (UMC) launched a campus-wide initiative to standardize reporting and promote data accessibility. Looker Studio was chosen due to:
Deep integration with Google Analytics and Google Sheets
Custom templating and branding capabilities
User-friendly interface for non-technical staff
Shareable and interactive dashboards with filter controls
Cost-effectiveness compared to enterprise BI platforms
The goal: turn Looker Studio into the go-to analytics tool across the UMN system—for everyone from content creators to department heads.
Implementation Approach: Scalable, Branded, and Self-Service
UMN's rollout was thoughtful and designed for scale. Key elements included:
1. Branded Templates for Universal Analytics and GA4
The central UMC team created clean, accessible dashboard templates for both GA Universal and GA4 users. These dashboards included:
Page views and session data
Top pages by traffic
Referring channels and sources
Mobile vs. desktop usage
Basic conversion insights
Templates were designed with:
UMN branding and color schemes
Date selectors and filter drop-downs
Help instructions and usage tips are directly embedded in the dashboard
Departments could copy and customize the templates, connecting their own data sources in a few clicks.
2. Department-Level Customizations
Colleges like the College of Science & Engineering (CSE) took the templates further, creating tailored dashboards that include:
Geographic heatmaps of traffic
Internal search term analysis
YouTube performance tracking
Link-failure and 404 page monitoring
Single-page detail views
The CSE dashboard is centrally curated and monitored, ensuring consistency and providing controlled access for department staff and content managers.
3. Staff Training and Enablement
UMN provided extensive support through:
Internal blog posts with dashboard best practices
Workshops and training sessions on GA4 and Looker Studio
Ongoing updates on performance improvements and interface changes
Documentation on how to blend data sources, apply filters, and customize visualizations
By building user confidence, they ensured staff could answer their questions and explore data more freely.
Real-Time Insights in Action: Example Dashboard Use Cases
UMN’s dashboards are not only practical—they’re powerful storytelling tools that improve decision-making. A few real-world use cases:
📊 Website Performance by Department
Each department can view traffic trends, bounce rates, and user behavior over time. Line and bar charts allow marketing teams to:
Assess content engagement across academic programs
Identify drops in traffic or usability issues
Align editorial calendars with high-performing topics
🎓 Recruitment Funnel Monitoring
Dashboards help enrollment teams monitor how prospective students navigate key admissions pages and financial aid content. Metrics include:
Page visit sequences (e.g., from homepage to application)
Engagement time on high-value content
Channel performance (paid search vs. organic vs. social)
📹 Multimedia and Video Engagement
The integration of YouTube analytics into Looker Studio dashboards allows departments to:
Track video views, drop-off rates, and top-performing content
Compare engagement by content type (e.g., testimonials vs. lectures)
Improve digital storytelling based on real-time performance data
⚠️ UX Monitoring: 404s and Link Errors
CSE’s dashboard includes specific visualizations for broken links and error pages. This helps:
Quickly identify and fix poor user experiences
Maintain SEO integrity and accessibility
Enable continuous site quality monitoring without code audits
Results: What the University of Minnesota Gained
The shift to Looker Studio delivered tangible benefits across the system:
✔️ Increased Data Literacy
Departments now access standardized, easy-to-read dashboards without needing technical support. Staff are empowered to explore their data.
✔️ Unified KPI Definitions
Shared templates have created consistency across units, aligning metrics and goals—an essential foundation for effective performance analysis.
✔️ Greater Efficiency
Reports that once took days to compile manually are now refreshed automatically in Looker Studio, freeing up time for analysis instead of assembly.
✔️ Collaborative Innovation
Departments build on each other’s templates and lessons. A solution pioneered in the CSE dashboard, for example, often becomes the new norm across campus.
✔️ Improved Web Strategy
With real-time performance data, content creators and marketers at UMN iterate faster, improve navigation, and boost student engagement through timely decisions.
Overcoming Key Challenges
🔄 Transitioning to GA4
The sunset of Universal Analytics posed a challenge, but UMN tackled it head-on:
Updated templates for GA4 data structures
Training on how to navigate Looker Studio’s GA4 connectors
Side-by-side dashboards to ease the learning curve
🔒 Managing Access and Governance
While data democratization was a priority, UMN also ensured privacy and compliance:
Curated dashboards with role-based access
Named points of contact per unit (e.g., Rob McIntosh for CSE)
Naming conventions and shared style guides to maintain clarity
🎯 Balancing Flexibility with Standardization
Allowing departments to customize dashboards while maintaining brand and data standards required close collaboration. A central team continues to review and update dashboard best practices regularly.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Looker Studio at UMN
UMN is committed to evolving its analytics strategy. Future goals include:
Wider Adoption: Expanding dashboard use to student services, academic advising, and research tracking.
Predictive Analytics: Using data models and Looker Studio integration with tools like BigQuery for forecasting trends (e.g., enrollment projections, content decay).
Data Blending: Combining GA4 with Search Console, email metrics, and internal data for holistic performance views.
Public Dashboards: Publishing select visualizations for transparency in communications with alumni, donors, and the public.
UMN’s central marketing team also plans to continue publishing dashboard tips and Looker Studio enhancements as they adapt to GA4 updates and new feature rollouts.
Conclusion
The University of Minnesota’s implementation of Looker Studio is a model for how large, decentralized institutions can unify and simplify data reporting. By offering branded, user-friendly templates and supporting departments with ongoing training and resources, UMN transformed its data culture from isolated and inconsistent to accessible and collaborative.
Through this case study, it's clear that effective use of Looker Studio isn’t just about dashboards—it’s about enabling insight at every level of the institution, empowering stakeholders, and advancing the university’s mission through smart, scalable data practices.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on how the University of Minnesota Uses Looker Studio
How long did it take UMN to roll out Looker Studio dashboards campus-wide?
The initial implementation with branded templates and pilot dashboards took a few months. Full adoption by departments occurred gradually over the following academic year.
Does the University of Minnesota still use Universal Analytics dashboards?
No. As of July 2023, UMN has transitioned to GA4 dashboards, but offers support materials for both GA4 and past UA dashboards for reference.
Can departments modify the central templates?
Yes, departments are encouraged to clone and customize templates to suit their specific needs, while maintaining branding and naming guidelines.
What tools does UMN combine with Looker Studio?
Common integrations include Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, Google Sheets, and YouTube Analytics. Some advanced users also leverage BigQuery.
Does the university share any dashboards publicly?
Currently, most dashboards are internal-facing, but there are plans to publish select data visualizations for transparency and stakeholder communication.