Statistical Data Analyst II

The Data Analyst within the Division of Student Affairs will serve as a strategic partner in leveraging data to enhance student experiences, inform decision-making, and support institutional priorities. This role is responsible for data collection, analysis, visualization, and reporting across key areas of student affairs, including retention, engagement, wellness, housing, and student success. The analyst will synthesize data from internal and external sources to identify trends, improve programming, and support the College's strategic goals focused on belonging, wellness, community, and academic excellence.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop, manage, and maintain dashboards and data visualizations for divisional and campus-wide reporting.
• Support data needs related to retention, progression, and graduation (RPG), student engagement, and wellness initiatives.
• Design and administer surveys, assessments, and evaluation tools to capture student outcomes and experiences.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data to support programming decisions, strategic planning, grant reporting, and accreditation efforts.
• Collaborate with Institutional Research, Enrollment Management, and other academic/student support units to align data systems and definitions.
• Translate complex data findings into actionable recommendations and accessible presentations for stakeholders, including the President's Cabinet and Board of Trustees.
• Assist in managing compliance with federal and state reporting (e.g., Clery Act, Title IX, FAFSA Simplification Act) related to student affairs programming.
• Monitor emerging data trends in higher education and provide guidance on best practices in data governance and analytics.
• Serve as a liaison to external partners for data-sharing projects (e.g., Foundation, Corporate Liaisons, Institutional Advancement, Dining Partners).
• Lead or support special projects as assigned by the Vice President for Student Affairs.
• Build and maintain a Student Affairs Data Lake.
• Works closely with Institutional Research on maintaining the colleges accreditation standards.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) & Strategic Alignment

Student Success & Retention

• Analyze and report on first-year retention rate, 4- and 6-year graduation rates, and RPG (Retention, Progression, Graduation) trends disaggregated by Pell eligibility, first-generation status, and major.
• Support predictive modeling to improve early intervention strategies (e.g., students at-risk, GPA trends, unmet financial need).
• Contribute data to institutional student success dashboards and monthly reporting cycles.

Student Engagement & Belonging

• Track student participation in co-curricular programs, Living-Learning Communities (LLCs), and leadership development opportunities.
• Monitor and assess student sense of belonging and satisfaction via national and internal survey instruments (e.g., NSSE, CIRP, Spelman Student Pulse).
• Provide term-over-term analysis of student wellness engagement (e.g., usage of counseling services, peer wellness programs).

Operational Efficiency & Decision Support

• Deliver quarterly data briefs for the VP of Student Affairs and President's Cabinet focused on strategic priorities (e.g., housing trends, wellness utilization, civic engagement participation).
• Maintain a minimum 95% on-time reporting rate for compliance-based submissions (e.g., Clery, Title IX trends, campus climate data).
• Reduce manual data collection by 20% annually by automating visualizations and reports through tools like Tableau or Power BI.

Strategic and Institutional Planning

• Support alignment with Spelman's KPIs and Strategic Plans
• Provide data analysis to support accreditation reporting (SACSCOC), Mellon Foundation grants, or internal assessments.
• Participate in working groups on institutional equity, belonging, and student learning outcomes by delivering insights from both qualitative and quantitative data.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in data science, statistics, social science, higher education, public policy or a related field.
• Minimum of three years of experience in data analytics, preferably in a higher education or student affairs context.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Tableau, Power BI, or similar data visualization tools.
• Experience with survey tools (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey) and statistical software (e.g., SPSS, R, Stata).
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to translate complex data for diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Familiarity with student development theory, learning outcomes assessment, student engagement measures and institutional research methods.
• Understanding of FERPA, HIPAA, and ethical data management principles.
• Experience working with data sets at Colleges and Universities.
• Commitment to advancing student success and equity through data-informed practices.
• Experience developing and sustaining dashboards and electronic reporting systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional preferred.
• Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate (Power BI / data modeling / visualization) preferred.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to: sit, walk, talk, hear, use hands to operate computer and other office equipment. The employee is frequently required to: stand, reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to: climb, and lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include the ability to adjust focus.

Full Time/Part Time

Full-time

Work Location/Schedule

This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement.