IRP at SAIR 2024

IRP Showcases Leadership and Innovation at SAIR 2024

The Office of Institutional Research & Planning (IRP) proudly participated in the 51st annual Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR) conference, held September 28–October 1, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. Our team demonstrated thought leadership, collaboration, and innovation through multiple presentations and service contributions.

Conference Presentations by IRP Staff:

• Jason Wang serving as an IPEDS Educator, delivered three impactful sessions:
  • IPEDS Data and Benchmarking introduced benchmarking fundamentals for assessing institutional effectiveness, guiding beginners through the use of IPEDS data and NCES tools to create comparison groups and establish key performance indicators.
  • IPEDS Data Tools taught participants how to use IPEDS data to assess student and institutional success through academic performance metrics and hands-on case studies.
  • IPEDS Beyond Compliance: How to Use IPEDS Data to Examine Student and Institutional Success guided participants in using IPEDS data to evaluate student and institutional success by exploring key performance metrics and engaging in hands-on case studies to analyze and present findings using IPEDS tools.
  • In partnership with Georgia State University, Jason Wang also co-presented Stepping in and Stepping Up: Leading in the Interim. This interactive workshop featured a panel of institutional research leaders sharing their experiences as interim office heads, focusing on succession planning, leadership during uncertainty, key challenges, successes, and lessons learned.
• Samantha James, in collaboration with Florida State University, led a two-part session, Highly Effective Teaming Pt 1 & Pt 2: Leveraging Microsoft Tools in the IR/IE Context. These sessions introduced and built upon project management concepts using Microsoft tools, with Part 1 focusing on knowledge management through Teams and OneNote, and Part 2 emphasizing communication, stakeholder engagement, and scope/schedule management via Outlook, Bookings, Teams, and Planner.
• Donyell Francis, in collaboration with Arkansas State University–Newport, presented Data Analytics and Visualization. This workshop provided a live demonstration comparing Tableau Prep and Power Query, highlighting how each tool can streamline data preparation workflows in institutional research.

Service to the SAIR Community

In addition to presenting, Samantha James served on the SAIR Board of Directors as the Member-At-Large for Sponsors & Exhibitors, helping secure vital conference funding and supporting the success of the event.