Decision Support Specialist jobs in Salem, MA

Job Description

DEPARTMENT: Campus Operations
NORMAL WORK HOURS: 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR: Head of Campus Operations

POSITION SUMMARY:
As part of Olin’s Campus Operations group, the Director of Institutional Research & Decision Support manages the institutional research function, coordinates assessment efforts, and manages accreditation and academic compliance.

This position leads the collection, evaluation and dissemination of information on Olin’s mission and activities and serves as a resource to build a collaborative culture of data-informed decision-making in support of the college’s goal of continuous improvement.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collect, manage, analyze and disseminate data and information on college activities and achievements.
  • Participate in data governance with other functional areas to develop and maintain standardized data definitions, reports, and analytical approaches to support data-informed decision-making throughout the college.
  • Develop resources that the college community can use to find essential information about Olin, including development and tracking of measures and benchmarks related to Olin’s strategic plan achievement.
  • Serve as a resource to fact check statistical data in college publications to support the Office of Admission and Financial Aid, the Office of Strategic Communications, and other areas as necessary.
  • Manage data reporting to external agencies (including serving as IPEDS Keyholder), publications, and data-sharing consortia.
  • Disseminate data and information to appropriate audiences using a variety of written, oral and visual methods in a manner that promotes action on results.
• Collaborate with academic leadership, faculty, Student Affairs and Resources, and other offices to develop and maintain an integrated curricular and co-curricular assessment program to promote curriculum and pedagogical innovation and improvement.
  • Develop and deploy tools to gauge student success and learning outcomes, evaluate teaching and courses, document alumni outcomes and assess the student experience, including health/wellness and campus climate surveys. Manage the course evaluation and learning outcomes assessment processes.
  • Provide high level and in-depth analysis of data collected with an emphasis on actionable information.
• Serve as a leader within the college for issues related to accreditation and academic compliance.
  • Serve as the college’s accreditation liaison officer with the regional accreditor, NECHE, and direct periodic accreditation activities, such as self-studies and reports, with both NECHE and ABET, Olin’s academic program accreditor.
  • Coordinate efforts to secure any necessary program approvals with the MA Department of Higher Education as Olin’s academic programs evolve.
  • Oversee Olin’s relationship with NC-SARA for online programming.
  • Manage institutional compliance as it relates to institutional research (e.g., Title IV reporting/IPEDS). Serve on Olin’s Compliance Team.
• Collaborate with the leadership of administrative areas to develop assessment, modeling and planning information. Develop enrollment and financial aid models and collaborate on annual projections.
• Support strategic planning efforts as needed at the institutional and team or department levels.
  • Bring a data-informed perspective to strategic projects such as the DEI Champions or SEA Change initiative.
  • Assist individual teams or departments with gathering the data they need for strategic planning through means such as surveys or focus groups.
• Develop and implement strategies to increase data literacy among the campus community in support of data-informed decision-making.
• Coordinate the college’s participation in national studies (e.g., National Survey of Student Engagement).
• Conduct special projects and analyses as requested by the Board of Trustees, college leadership, and faculty and staff.
• Partner with Information Technology to develop business intelligence strategies and choose and support appropriate web-based software tools. Administer the Qualtrics and CoursEval systems.
• Serve as campus resource on best practices in research, including human subjects research and survey design (including in class presentations as appropriate such as P&M).
• Serve on committees, working groups and/or task forces as appropriate.
• Manage institutional research and accreditation budgets.
• Manage and develop any institutional research staff.
• Stay current on best practices in institutional research and assessment through membership in appropriate professional groups and participating in professional development activities.
• Other duties as assigned.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS:

Below is a list of knowledge, skills and abilities that will be helpful in this role. We recognize that different candidates will have strengths in different areas and we are open to candidates with a variety of backgrounds and experiences.

• Master’s degree in Higher Education or related field (e.g., social sciences or business) and 5-7 years of institutional research experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ability to understand, manage, interpret, and assure quality of complex data sets from multiple sources, including highly confidential data.
• Experience with survey design, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and evaluation strategies.
• Proficiency with common software tools and strong ability to learn new software. Olin IR currently uses Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, SPSS, Qualtrics, Tableau, and NVIVO. The current ERP system is Jenzabar CX (Slate for Admission) and the current SQL-based reporting tool is Cognos Analytics.
• Exceptional communication (written, verbal and visual), analytical, interpersonal, collaboration, and organizational skills.
• Experience with current and emerging data visualization techniques and knowledge of appropriate software packages that facilitate visualization.
• Experience with regional and/or professional accreditation processes is a plus.
• Familiarity with advancements in pedagogy and engineering education is a plus.

Company Description

Olin College of Engineering seeks employees who are passionate about working collaboratively within and outside of the Olin community to support the College’s mission and vision for the future. At Olin, we are educating the next generation of engineering innovators and shifting the definition of engineering. Not only do our students ask, “Who are we designing this for, and what are their values?” They also ask questions about the impact of their work on society.

As Olin evolves under the leadership of our president, Dr. Gilda Barabino, we seek to become a more diverse and aware community, a place where everyone is a learner and where everyone is an educator. Olin will become a place where experimentation—including making and learning from mistakes—will be embraced across the institution, not just in the classroom. Collaboration is key to Olin’s curriculum and culture, and we will work intentionally to reinforce the values and culture to which we aspire. We are a community that thrives on being together; we value trust. The College supports teams to collaboratively decide how they can best do their work, and display a commitment to the community, all while providing individuals with overall work-life flexibility.

Olin College is situated on 75 acres in Needham, Massachusetts. We are approximately ten miles from Boston, one mile from the MBTA Commuter Rail train station, and approximately four miles from the Woodland Station for the MBTA Green Line. We have plenty of free parking on campus. You can find more details on our Visiting Campus page.

Take a Virtual Campus Tour: From the moment you step on campus at Olin, you feel a buzz of energy and activity—and once you experience it, you want to be a part of it.

Benefits

Olin College prides itself on offering to faculty and staff comprehensive benefits that provide both choice and value. These benefits are an important part of total compensation.

Full-time employees scheduled to work at least of 30 hours per week may be eligible for the following benefits:

Core Benefits

• Medical (three different options)
• Dental
• Vision
• Basic Life and AD&D Insurance (company paid)
• Paid Family Medical Leave
• Long Term Disability (company paid)
• 403(b) Retirement Plan with company match
• Liberal sick and vacation time and paid holidays
• Free parking

Additional Benefits

• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Voluntary Life Insurance
• Tuition Assistance Program
• Business Travel Insurance
• Supplemental 403(b) Retirement Plan
• Travel Assistance Services (company paid)
• Health Care Management Program
• Pet Insurance

Please note that benefits are subject to change at any time.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

At Olin College we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If you’re excited about a role and have relevant experience, but your work history doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we'd nevertheless encourage you to apply.

Olin College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We especially welcome applications from candidates belonging to groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA people, and people with disabilities. Employees of the College who have a disability are welcome to request reasonable accommodations by contacting Human Resources at HR@olin.edu.