Moya McGuill, Milad Abdulla, Troy Wiseman, Ashley Garcia

Professor Julianne Newmark

English 290
4 March 2016
Group Data Visualization: Textual Component

The table is beneficial to the marketing department of the Los Alamos branch at the
University of New Mexico (UNM). Specific statistical data can help determine the target
audience when designing brochures. The marketing department can also use the information
when using social media outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The cumulative data
from 2012 to 2016 shows trends in full-time and part-time enrollment. This data is beneficial to
the admissions department at the Los Alamos branch. This information can give the department
some insight into future enrollment by looking at the trend for male and female students.
However, this information is limited because the department can use it to compare other statistics
related to gender. There may be certain classes that have a higher enrollment rate among women
and UNM can use this information to determine how many staff members they will need to hire
for specific classes. The information can also be used in conjunction with trends in the economy.

Throughout the spring semester, enrollment rates changed drastically due to the growth
of the campus total, transfers, new freshmen, readmit, and returning students. The use of a
horizontal bar graph is one of the most effective and useful tools because it helps create a
simple approach to understanding the different array of students that attend the university. The
bar graph also gives staff, incoming students, and researchers a visual representation of the
student population that exists in Los Alamos. This graph makes the different selection of
students more evident. It also creates an effective visual of the results on a bar graph that show
the growth of the UNM enrollment rate for five consecutive years (2012-2016). In addition to
this, this is excellent for data comparison. Labeling on this type of graph is simple to understand;
it makes the information concise and leaves room for clarification. The keys on a horizontal bar
graph help distinguish important aspects that are different from one another, making this graphs
data regarding enrollment status within the Los Alamos branch simple and informative.

Using a line graph to represent enrollment status helps to show major changes, either
positive or negative, over a given period of time. To help visualize the information clearly, we
have omitted the overall total because it drastically changed the scale of the graph and hid one
of the values. In this case, the choice to use a line graph is beneficial to either the branch registrar
or the branch activities coordinator to gauge the population of the specific branch. This graphic
shows the current enrollment status of the Taos branch at UNM, which consists of transfers, new
freshmen, readmit, and returning students. Since this is a line graph, it allows us to see the rate of
change in students from point-by-point.

A vertical column chart is useful when comparing two or more values. This chart
allows potential students to quickly look at gender and load. Students can see trends in headcount
by gender without sorting through data they feel is unnecessary. Students may be interested in a
branch that has programs designed for part-time students. Looking at this graph, the student
might deduct that the Taos branch has more part-time students than full-time students.
Ultimately, having this information cuts down the time that the student would spend e-mailing
and calling various branches to ask about part-time programs. Students might correctly or
incorrectly assume that the Taos branch has many programs or classes geared toward part-time
students because of the column graph.