Director of Institutional Research

Reporting to the Vice President, the Director of Institutional Research will provide leadership for the university’s institutional research program. This position is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating a wide range of data related to the university's academic enterprise, which includes providing critical decision support to senior administrative leaders.  The Director will serve as a trusted, centralized resource for current and historic information about the university, while also being a proactive leader for high-level assessment, analysis, research and planning.  This dynamic position will lead the central team for data collection, analysis and reporting, based on areas of institutional priority. The strongest candidates will have demonstrated experience in adhoc reporting, data analysis, managing research analysts and interpretation of data -- with skill in identifying critical issues for continuous improvement.

The Director of Institutional Research will supervise the research analysts, prioritize the work and conduct analysis on areas of institutional priority. The Director will work with colleagues at all levels across the university, including central administration, academic units, and USC ITS. We are seeking a leader to ensure common practice, and data integrity across all areas of the university.


PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Defines and organizes research projects.
• Designs research protocols and instruments.   
• Identifies, collects, organizes, analyzes, interprets and reports information to comply with and fulfill routine and/or specific internal and external requests.
• Works with senior leadership and university constituencies to develop assessments and metrics that measure institutional effectiveness.
• Creates survey instruments, course evaluations and ensures the questions are equitably presented.
• Coordinates and submits all external surveys/reports such as: Gainful Employment, CDS, IPEDS, US News & World Report, etc.
• Coordinates quantitative and qualitative research activities such as student surveys, including questionnaire and research design, methodology, coding, sub-group analysis, and report preparation.
• Prepares updates and expands the collection of comparative data and peer indicators.
• Assists in the development of quality enhancement plans and program reviews.
• Designs specific analytic and predictive modeling studies as needed.
• Instructs and/or assists administrators, faculty and staff in areas of research design, methodology, instrument administration and/or construction, data analysis, and interpretation.
• Disseminates information and analysis that provides interpretations of research studies.
• Develops research projects, impact analysis, and other reports for university decision-making.
• Tracks and analyzes enrollment, retention, graduation, transfer and related data; prepares projections with assistance and direction from VP of Admissions and Planning.
• Performs additional duties, and assist with special projects as assigned.

PREFERRED REQUIREMENTS:

• Doctorate degree strongly preferred
• Related experience in higher education, and particularly in institutional research
• Experience in policy analysis, educational assessment, quantitative and qualitative research methods and statistics.
• Experience with IPEDS, Common Data Set (CDS), and course evaluations.
• Experience querying (SQL) and working with large databases, and programming for data extraction, merging, report creation, and analysis.
• Knowledge of assessment, evaluation principles and practices.
• Proficiency with SAS, R, SPSS, TABLEAU or similar statistical package.
• Experience collaborating with faculty and senior leaders across an institution.
• Strong statistical and analytical skills, with demonstrated knowledge of financial modeling, trend analysis, and experience working with institutional research data/statistical analysis and programming software.
• Ability to work independently, and manage several projects simultaneously to meet deadlines.
• Strong oral and written communication skills and the ability to work with diverse constituencies (i.e., faculty, staff, administrators, and students) to present data in a written, cogent and meaningful manner.
• Management experience leading IR professionals to ensure common practice, and data integrity across all areas of the University.

Please upload a cover letter and resume as part of your application process. Apply to this requisition REQ20043466.