Director of Institutional Research

PURPOSE OF THIS POSITION:

• To collaborate with the Provost’s Office to develop and oversee the institutional research function for the University, cultivate a culture that systematically uses information as a strategic asset, and help build a data-centric campus culture through education, outreach, resources and support
• To gather, assemble, analyze, and communicate information from a variety of internal and external sources to all campus constituents and to a range of regulatory agencies and other consumers of university data
• To develop reports and provide high level analysis for opportunities to improve all aspects of the University’s recruitment, enrollment, retention and graduation rates for undergraduate, graduate and professional students
• To serve as IPEDS Keyholder and as the University’s chief reporting official for IPEDS reporting, the Common Data Set, US News, and other surveys that impact the University’s image and reputation
• To be the primary point of contact for institutional data analysis and research projects to support activities that promote planning, continuous improvement and organizational effectiveness and develop decision support and regular and/or automated reporting solutions to support the academic mission of the university as it relates to student success
• To collaborate with institutional grant-seeking teams and to assemble relevant data to support grant proposals

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

The Director of Institutional Research is responsible to:

1. Operate the institutional research function for the university, cultivate a culture that systematically uses information as a strategic asset, and help build a data-centric campus culture through education, outreach, resources and support
2. Prepare reports for the institution including federal audit and compliance reports, regional accreditation standards reports, and university academic and financial regulatory reports
3. Become an expert in the utilization of current and future hardware and software packages to run the Office of Institutional Research in the most progressive and efficient manner possible
4. Assemble, analyze, and present specific data to support academic and administrative planning, operations, decision-making, and communication
5. Support the Provost’s Office in the development, implementation and promotion of a strategic retention plan, including identifying ways to improve student retention and graduation rates, supported by analysis
6. Represent the Division of Academic Affairs to other departments on campus, as well as a wide array of external organizations
7. Serve as IPEDS Keyholder and as the University’s chief reporting official for IPEDS reporting, ensuring that all IPEDS reports are completed on time through a coordinated effort and incorporating support from other University offices
8. Coordinate and complete the Common Data Set, US News, NSF, and other surveys that impact the University’s image and reputation
9. Design, prepare and update reports, dashboards, fact books, and other presentations of general institutional data for broad use by all campus constituents, online and in print
10. Coordinate data support for institutional, accreditation, and other regulatory needs
11. Assemble and coordinate relevant data for institutional grant proposals
12. Extract, transform, analyze and summarize data using various tools including Microsoft Power BI
13. Create meaningful data visualizations and dashboards
14. Develop and update standardized information resources such as reports, website updates, dashboards, etc., on a regular schedule
15. Identify data discrepancies and data quality issues before such errors affect reporting to ensure consistency and integrity of institutional data
16. Respond to and/or supervise timely completion of ad hoc requests for institutional data
17. Incorporate external information resources for comparisons and benchmarking
18. Collaborate with Information Technology (IT) to improve and expand data available for analysis and reporting
19. Take a leadership role to establish standards, definitions, and calendars for data collection and analysis following generally accepted guidelines and professional standards for physical and electronic security and data sharing.
20. Interact with data stewards and others to design information resources to meet their needs
21. Summarize and communicate results effectively in a variety of formats including executive summaries, reports, dashboards and data visualizations
22. Maintain and publish the University Fact Book
23. Document and archive processes and operations to ensure business continuity
24. Ensure and guide relevant training to support institutional research needs and practices, collaborating with Educational Technology and Training as needed
25. Perform other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Associate Provost

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

1. General knowledge of higher education institutional research best practices and coming trends within the discipline of data analysis and business intelligence
2. Understanding of relevant federal & state regulations
3. Ability to collaborate effectively with others from various departments around campus, including VPs, Deans, other administrators, faculty, and staff, and to build strategic relationships
4. Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form with a variety of audiences
5. Ability to exercise good judgement and  maintain confidentiality of sensitive information, such as faculty/staff/administration data, and student records in compliance with FERPA
6. Ability to work independently and set priorities
7. Excellent organizational & time management skills and ability to perform well under pressure & meet deadlines
8. Ability to plan and manage multiple ongoing and future projects, including ability to prioritize key needs and juggle multiple time-sensitive demands
9. Ability to be detail-oriented and thorough
10. Strong analytical, statistical, presentation, and documentation skills
11. Knowledge of statistics and quantitative analytics
12. Experience with contemporary statistical and other software tools for data management, analysis and reporting
13. Knowledge of how to query, clean, and transform large data sets

ERGONOMIC REQUIREMENTS:

• Sitting, bending, reaching, as expected in a normal office setting
• Occasional lifting not expected to exceed 50 lbs.
• Extensive use of computer equipment
• Close visual acuity required for operation of computer and completion of paperwork.

QUALIFICATION STANDARDS:

1. Education: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
2. Experience:  At least three years of experience in institutional research, planning, and higher education administration preferred.  (If a candidate does not have direct institutional research experience, they should demonstrate experience in an adjacent area, such as a registrar’s office.)
3. Knowledge:  Experience with contemporary statistical and other software tools for data management, analysis and reporting is required, as is demonstrated experience in querying, cleaning and transforming large data sets, general understanding of fundamentals of statistics and quantitative analytics, and knowledge of best practices and coming trends within the discipline of data analysis and business intelligence.  Proficiency in Microsoft Office and statistical and visual analytics tools is required.

HOURS:

Exempt: Hours as needed to complete job responsibilities 

Western New England University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We welcome candidates whose background may contribute to the further diversification of our community.