Position Purpose:
The Director of Institutional Research and Analytics directs the
institutional research, reporting, and analytics functions within
the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support. The
Director ensures that institutional data are accurate, consistent,
timely, and useful for compliance, accreditation, planning,
evaluation, and university decision-making.
Reporting to the Chief Data Officer and Associate Vice President
for Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support, the Director
translates institutional priorities into an achievable research and
reporting work plan, supervises assigned professional staff, and
conducts and reviews analyses that support student success and
institutional improvement. The position combines staff leadership
with hands-on research, reporting, and consultation with campus
partners. The Director exercises independent professional judgment
in selecting research methods, managing assignments, and resolving
routine analytical and reporting issues within approved priorities
and institutional standards.
The Chief Data Officer and Associate Vice President leads
enterprise data strategy, governance, and institutional data
policy. The Director implements those standards within research and
reporting, coordinates analytical and technical priorities, and
works with the Manager of Data Integration and Optimization, who
leads technical development and integration in partnership with
Information Technology Services.
Core Competencies:
- Represents Aurora University in the most positive manner with
prospective, former and current students, clients, suppliers and
the community we serve. Interacts effectively with a diverse group
of faculty, staff, students and other customers of our service,
learns and uses operating practices of the department and Aurora
University.
Upholds the Mission Statement: Aurora University is an
inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of
learning. As a teaching-centered institution, we encourage
undergraduate and graduate students to discover what it takes to
build meaningful and examined lives. Our singular goal is to
empower our students to achieve lasting personal and professional
success.
Handles all information with tact and discretion and recognizes
the confidential nature of university business.
Supports learning through performance of essential job
functions and performing other duties and functions as necessary or
as assigned, including voluntary participation in university
committees, activities and events.
Essential Job Functions:
- Manage institutional research and reporting operations. Develop
and maintain the annual analytics and reporting calendar;
anticipate emerging information needs; recommend research
priorities; and organize recurring and ad hoc work within
priorities approved by the Chief Data Officer and Associate Vice
President. Establish project milestones, manage assignments, and
escalate resource constraints and competing institutional
demands.
- Supervise and develop assigned professional staff. Establish
clear expectations, coordinate workloads, review performance,
support professional development, and maintain cross-training and
continuity for critical functions.
- Oversee the preparation, validation, and timely submission of
assigned federal, state, accreditor, association, and other
external reports, including IPEDS, the Common Data Set, and NCAA
reporting. Coordinate institutional reviews and approvals and
maintain supporting documentation.
- Monitor changes in reporting requirements and definitions with
staff and campus partners. Assess their effects on institutional
research processes, implement necessary updates, and communicate
significant issues to the Chief Data Officer and Associate Vice
President.
- Conduct and oversee research on enrollment, retention,
persistence, completion, student outcomes, financial aid, academic
programs, workforce data, and other approved priorities. Examine
differences across relevant student populations, programs, and
instructional modalities to identify barriers to success and
opportunities for improvement. Select appropriate methods and
communicate findings, limitations, and implications for
action.
- Establish and apply quality assurance procedures for official
statistics, analyses, and reports. Review cohort definitions,
calculations, research methods, and interpretations; reconcile
discrepancies with data owners; and document decisions and
corrections.
- Develop and maintain reports, dashboards, institutional
profiles, benchmarks, and key performance indicators with staff and
campus partners. Endure measures are clearly defined and aligned
with AUnity strategic priorities, including student outcomes,
program performance, operational effectiveness, and resource
planning. Interpret progress and identify questions requiring
further investigation.
- Coordinate reporting and analytics requirements with technical
development. Define analytical requirements, prioritize
enhancements within approved work plans, establish criteria for
validating results, and review analytical outputs. Partner with the
Data Integration Manager, ITS, and consultants on reliable data
delivery, automation, and reporting workflows.
- Apply institutional data governance, privacy, security, and
access standards within research and reporting. Maintain documented
definitions, query logic, report specifications, validation
procedures, and version history. Refer enterprise policy decisions
to the Chief Data Officer.
- Provide research, analyses, and data documentation for
accreditation, program review, assessment, strategic planning, and
the Annual Institutional Effectiveness Report. Partner with campus
colleagues to define outcomes, establish baselines and appropriate
comparisons, and evaluate institutional initiatives to inform
program and service improvements. Collaborate with the
Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support Analyst and
Coordinator on assigned projects.
- Consult with campus partners to clarify information needs,
define research questions, interpret, and apply results
responsibly. Prepare accessible reports, presentations, and
executive summaries, and provide guidance and training on
institutional data and measures.
- Improve the efficiency and reproducibility of research and
reporting through documented procedures and appropriate use of
approved analytical technologies. Evaluate approved AI-assisted
tools where useful, validate their outputs, and follow
institutional privacy and security standards. Perform other related
duties as assigned.
Essential Job Requirements:
Education:
- Master’s degree in a field with substantial preparation in
research methods, statistics, analytics, or a related discipline
required. Doctoral degree in a related field preferred.
Skills:
- At least five years of progressively responsible experience in
institutional research, higher education analytics, institutional
reporting, or a closely related field, including direct
responsibility for higher education reporting.
- Demonstrated experience supervising professional staff or
leading substantial collaborative projects, with the ability to set
expectations, coordinate assignments, provide feedback, and support
staff development.
- Experience preparing, validating, and coordinating external
higher education reports, including IPEDS, and applying reporting
definitions and requirements accurately.
- Strong knowledge of quantitative research methods, statistical
analysis, institutional benchmarking, data quality assurance, and
responsible interpretation of results.
- Proficiency in SQL and experience with analytical tools or
languages such as R, Python, SAS, or SPSS; ability to review
queries, analytical logic, and reproducible reporting
processes.
- Experience with enterprise data systems, relational data
structures, data warehouses, and dashboard or visualization tools;
ability to translate information needs into analytical and
technical specifications.
- Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills,
including the ability to explain complex findings and limitations
to nontechnical audiences.
- Strong project management, organizational, and documentation
skills; sound judgment in managing deadlines, competing priorities,
and sensitive information.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel and working
proficiency with Word and PowerPoint.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience supervising and developing professional research or
technical staff.
- Experience with Ellucian Colleague, Colleague Insights, EAB
Edify, or comparable platforms.
- Experience supporting accreditation, program review, student
success research, survey analysis, or evaluation of institutional
initiatives.
Special Requirements:
- Completes required human subjects research, FERPA, and data
privacy training.
- Maintains current knowledge of institutional research practices
and applicable reporting requirements.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to work at a computer station for long periods of
time.
- Ability to communicate and interact via electronic mail and
telephone.
