Director of Institutional Research

Job Summary

/Basic Function: The Director of Institutional Research leads and coordinates a comprehensive program of external reporting, internal reporting and analysis, survey administration, and project management in support of institutional assessment, strategic planning, and decision-making. Reporting to the Vice President for Finance and Administration (VPFA), the Director collaborates with offices across campus to spearhead data collection, governance, integration, analytics and reporting to address institutional priorities, inform curricular and program development, assess institutional performance, and improve institutional outcomes. The Director presents data analysis through various means to drive the College’s student success, operational, budgetary and planning efforts across many constituencies.

1. Develops, collects, analyzes and administers the college’s institutional data required for external and internal reports and surveys, and business intelligence and decision support. (30%) Manages the internal institutional data request process including autonomous fulfillment of requests to the maximum extent possible. Provides information of a general nature about the college and its environment through the publication of a variety of documents such as the annual Vital Signs report, Board of Trustees Dashboards, and other standard reports.
2. Develops and administers institutional surveys and research projects, producing actionable written reports and presentations grounded in excellence in data analytics, preparation of executive summaries and detailed research analysis reports. (25%) Coordinates and responds to all state, federal and organizational data requests and required submissions of institutional data (e.g., IPEDS, MA-DOE, NECHE) and prioritized surveys such as US News & World Report, Princeton, etc.
3. Collaboration with other offices to advance the college’s business intelligence and data governance, integration, and analytics strategies and initiatives. Serve on the Business Intelligence for Integrated Decision Support team (BIIDS). (20%) Collaborates extensively with campus departments to develop and improve data integration, governance, and administrative processes to help ensure data integrity and effective and efficient use of enterprise system databases (e.g., Banner student information and student financial services, residence life and student retention/success systems). Partner across campus to use data to enhance student success and retention, and inform efforts to create a diverse, equitable, and accessible community. Communicate data practices and results clearly and transparently to varied audiences, including administrators, staff, faculty, and students. The outcomes of this critical role shall be routinely assessed, including strategic performance measurers (e.g., capacity gains, ratio of time spent on data analytics and reporting vs. qualifying data).
4. Provides consultative services regarding presentation of information & data, development of surveys created and administered by faculty, staff and students, etc. (5%) Collaborates with faculty and staff regarding institutional effectiveness and strategic priorities and initiatives. 5. Supports the academic and co-curricular assessment processes and plays an active role in the college’s compliance with NECHE and other accreditation agencies’ requirements and processes for preparing self-study and other related reports. (10%) Aids and advises the provost office, faculty and others related to college program development and evaluation. Partner on efforts to assess curricular and co-curricular learning. 6. Advances the operation and effectiveness of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment including the leadership and management of the Associate Director of Institution Research. (10%) Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses required by the VPFA.
7. Performs all other duties and responsibilities as assigned or directed by the supervisor. This may include attendance of and participation in required training for role. Minimum Qualifications: At least seven, minimum of five years’ experience in institutional research and effectiveness, preferably in a higher education liberal arts setting. Master’s degree in social sciences, education research, statistics, business or higher education administration; doctorate preferred. Demonstrated vision and collaborative leadership in using data analytics to to support institutional effectiveness. Experience with accreditation self-study process. Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with integrity and discretion. Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, communication, and leadership skills with multiple stakeholders in a diverse campus community. Understanding statistic fundamentals with demonstrated progressive experience in using math, research, analysis and statistics skills effectively. Ability to analyze data using standard statistical software (e.g., SPSS, R, Python) and create compelling data visualizations (e.g., Tableau). Knowledge of and experience with best practices of qualitative and quantitative research design and methodology in higher education, especially survey design. Interest in leading institutional research projects. Advanced data quality control and data analysis skills. Ability to communicate and present data analysis effectively to a wide audience. Experience with enterprise student information systems, preferably Banner, including the extraction of data and report generation through WebFOCUS. Experience with data analysis software, such as SPSS, SAS, or R, survey software, such as Qualtrics, and data visualization software, such as Tableau. Preferred Qualifications: Doctoral degree preferred. Compensation and Benefits To attract and retain the most talented individuals, Wheaton College maintains a flexible and competitive staff compensation and program.

When determining and establishing hiring rates or recruitment ranges for a position, the College considers a number of factors including the budget for the position, the range of the grade, the external market for the position or similar positions, level and scope of responsibilities, required education, skills and relevant experience as well as internal equity. All salary offers must have the prior approval of the Office of Human Resources.

The salary for this position will be commensurate with the qualifications, education and experience. Physical Demands ADA Statement:

Individuals must possess these knowledges, skills and abilities or be able to explain and demonstrate that the individual can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.

Eeo Statement Wheaton College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and does not discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, race, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, or disability. In a continuing effort to maintain and enrich an intellectually diverse learning environment, the Department and the College actively encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented groups.

Wheaton’s core belief is that valuing diversity is pivotal to personal development, intellectual expansion, and societal equity. Our community is united by a shared dedication to equity and access that is essential to providing a transformative education in the Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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