Thursday October 26 Keynote Address

AI Panel

Panel Guests: Nate Allen, Dr. Julie Coltharp, Dr. Egon Heidendal, Mark McKelvey

This panel of four individuals, two from higher education and two outside of higher education, will address a wide range of AI and LLM topics with the heaviest focus being on generative AI. Moderated by Chris Urban.

Friday October 27 Keynote Address

Daniel Mack

Vice President - Assistant General Manager/Research & Development, Kansas City Royals

Dr. Daniel Mack is entering his 11th season with the Royals and second as the Vice President, Assistant GM of Research & Development. In this role, Dr. Mack oversees the quantitative analysis staff and software developers to assist with evaluation across all areas of baseball operations. He has previously held titles as the Assistant General Manager of Research & Development from 2019-21, Senior Director of Quantitative Analysis/Amateur Scouting in 2018, Director of Baseball Analytics/Research Science from 2015-17 and Analyst in Baseball Analytics from 2013-14.

Prior to joining the Royals, Mack earned a doctorate in computer science from Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, Mack’s dissertation focused on machine learning and anomaly detection. While pursuing his doctorate, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, where he and his research group won the NASA Associate Administrator Award for Technology and Innovation for work combining machine learning with fault diagnosis.

Mack was a teaching assistant while completing his master’s degree in computer science with a concentration in machine learning at Columbia University in New York. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Notre Dame in 2006. A native of Reno, Nev., he now resides in Kansas City, Mo.

Professional Development Opportunities (Wednesday)

Morning Sessions:

• Newcomers to Institutional Research

This popular workshop is designed for newcomers to IR - or anyone desiring a refresher! Each Institutional Research office is a unique entity shaped by an extensive assortment of internal and external forces. If you are new to IR and wondering what you've gotten yourself into, this PDO may provide some insight. Presented by two experienced IR practitioners, this half-day workshop will touch on a wide variety of IR-related issues. Our focus is on breadth rather than depth. After introductions and listening to what you would like to take away from the day, topics planned include: some definitions of Institutional Research, IR models, identifying common functions of IR offices and how they meet institutional needs, project management, ethics, common definitions, reports and surveys, national data sets, technical skills, and business intelligence and statistics commonly used in IR.

Click here to view the slides from the presentation

• Creating Analytical Reports with Power BI: An Introduction 

Do you find yourself wishing you had a more robust platform for building analytical reports—a platform designed with “big data” in mind?  In this workshop, we’ll take an introductory deep dive into Microsoft Power BI by providing an overview of its key features/workflows, creating a report, and discussing some ”best practices” along the way.  Interested?  Let’s start building!

Afternoon Sessions:

• U.S. Census Data Tools for Institutional Researchers (Virtual Session)

Learn how to access commonly used Census data files and customize tables using data.census.gov. Participants will also learn how to cross-tabulate and modify variables to fulfill specific project requirements, with a focus on post-secondary employment outcomes, workforce indicators, and other census tools. 

Click here to view the slides from the presentation

• Challenge-Strategy Mapping 

Have you every struggled with how to identify, analyze, and prioritize problems in the strategic planning process? Attendees of this session will learn a technique called Challenge Strategy Mapping to articulate a set of interrelated challenges quickly and systematically.

There are enormous benefits to using challenge maps.  First, it helps teams surface key decision points which have the greatest potential affect.  It also helps teams get aligned about the most impactful next step. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, challenge maps help teams overcome limited thinking, inspiring fresh thinking and unlocking innovation. 

2023 Conference Sessions (Thursday-Friday)

• Effects of Changing Major on Graduation Time and Academic Performance

  Presented by: Yuhao Liu, Kansas State University

This study uses K-state’s first-time freshmen from six terms as the sample. Their graduation rates, time to degree, credit hours earned at graduation and final GPAs will be compared by frequencies (0 to 4) and directions (STEM major to STEM major, non-STEM major to STEM major, etc.) of changing major. To control the impact of other factors such as demographics, matching case study and regression analysis were both conducted, and results and advantages of the two methodologies will be compared.

• Ask the CIP Wizard: CIP 2020 and Beyond

Presented by: Allan Joseph Medwick and Michelle Coon, National Center for Education Statistics (virtual)

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released the latest version of the Classification of Instructional Programs, CIP 2020, on July 10, 2019. In this session, we will highlight some of the emerging fields identified through the "write-in" process and an analysis of academic program inventories. We will also discuss key areas of current CIP development, answer attendee questions on academic program classification, and describe ways to contribute to future versions of the CIP.

• The Impact of the Academic Success Center on Student Outcomes

Presented by: Matthew Husky, Ryan Kelly, Josephine Kershaw, & Andrew Swanson, Jefferson College

Lecture-style:

Our on-campus tutoring center, the Academic Success Center, was interested in charting the impact of its services on student success. This was defined as the student passing their course for which they received help. Using several hypothesis tests comparing sample proportions, we found statistically significant improvements in student pass rates for many subjects. These were especially pronounced for Math. The impact increased for students who received help over multiple visits.

Click here to view slide deck

• Missouri Transfer Students: Demographics and ACT Trends

Presented by: Otto Coon, Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development

Lecture presentation on the demographics and trends on the ACT (across MO 4Y institutions) among transfer students. Missouri's Transfer students are more diverse socioeconomically than first-time attendees.

An interesting linear relationship was seen between first-time student and transfer act. At more selective schools, the gap was larger than it was for less selective schools.

Click here to view slide deck

•  Faculty Salaries Supported by Research Funding

Presented by: Ronald Thompson, University of Missouri System

This presentation will discuss the data challenges faced when attempting to investigate the changes, over time, in faculty salaries supported by research funding.

•   Data Literacy:  Who, What, When, Where and Why

Presented by: Dr. Michael McBride, Northwest Missouri State University

Attendees will participate in a roundtable discussion about data literacy in institutions of higher education, and how institutional research offices can help develop it among stakeholders.  This will be an opportunity to share what is currently being done regarding data literacy at MidAIR campuses and elaborate on best practices accepted by national organizations.  Some of the concepts covered about data literacy may include:  ethics; dictionaries; capacity; access; and coaching.

Click to view slide deck

•  Practical AI in IR

Presented by: Dr. Egon Heidendal, Northwest Missouri State University

This session will explore various practical ways of how to use AI tools such as ChatGPT from OpenAI and Bard from Google in your Institutional Research shop. Items such as analyzing qualitative data, writing quick code, and generating R scripts are covered, among other things. The focus is on practical use of these tools.

  Click to view slide deck

• Using Data to make Prevention Programs successful for the health of students on campus

Presented by: Dr. Tyler Tapps, Northwest Missouri State University

This presentation is a discussion and demonstration of the surveys and metrics we collect on our campus. More importantly, it is a presentation on how we synthesis that data and make program and prevention initiatives to make an impact for positive health of students. 

Click to view slide deck

• Tigers Doing Big Things: Mizzou Career Outcomes

Presented by: Brandon Wolak, University of Missouri

This will be a lecture-style presentation. I will present our Career Outcomes (Power BI) dashboard which tracks first-destination outcomes for University of Missouri undergraduate students within six months of graduation. Specifically, the presentation will cover survey process, data analysis, and report creation. I will also share how this data integrates within our holistic student-lifecycle reporting model. 

•  Predictive Analytics: Leveraging Data to Enhance Enrollment and Student Success

Presented by: John Clayton, Alex Wells, Connor Nybert, & Pete Belk, Johnson County Community College

In the last half-decade, JCCC pursued implementing cutting-edge predictive analytics to enhance student success. This presentation delves into scientific methods and models meticulously crafted, unearthing invaluable insights into student outcomes. These insights played a pivotal role in informing decisions regarding enrollment, advising, and other critical support services. Additionally, we will delve into ongoing initiatives and future aspirations to drive further advancements.

• Assessing Basic Needs Insecurity - Part 2

Presented by: Matt Harris and Misty Tollett, Ozarks Technical Community College

To better understand students' non-academic barriers, Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) developed and deployed an internal basic needs security survey to assess students' food and housing insecurity, homelessness, and needs related to transportation, technology, and healthcare. At MidAIR 2022, we presented on how we created the survey. For 2023, we will dive into the analysis of the survey results using Power BI and ideas for communicating those results to various stakeholders.

Click to view slide deck

• Professional Licensure Disclosure Roundtable

Presented by: Christine Hamilton, University of Saint Mary

Christine Hamilton will be leading a discussion on how the University of Saint Mary has implemented its processes for the federally mandated professional licensure disclosures, including policy creation, public disclosure research, and direct disclosure templates. There will be plenty of time for participants to share how they're handling the process at their own institutions. With new legislation coming down on November1st, come join in this timely discussion! 

Click here to view slide deck

• Measuring Cost & Productivity Across the Institution: Academics, Student Services & Administration Services

Presented by: Michelle Taylor, Benchmarking Institute at Johnson County Community College

For nearly 20 years, the Benchmarking Institute has provided national benchmarks & peer comparisons to serve & support institutions. 

Presentation will feature NEW reporting functions measuring cost & productivity in the areas of academics, student services, & administration services. These functions will support leadership in making data-informed resource decisions across the institution. 

Please provide input & ask questions as this session will be customized based on audience interest.

• Discovering Your Data Identity

Presented by: Casey Whalen, St. Louis Community College

Using "You Are a Data Person, Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus" by Dr. Amelia Parnell, this lecture style presentation will help participants discover their data identity and the ways that data identities can help frame interdisciplinary collaborations across campus.

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• Navigating Data Governance: A Round Table Discussion

Presented by: Dr. Kirk Skoglund, Rockhurst University

Join for an engaging and informative round table discussion on the complexities and challenges of managing data governance initiatives in higher education institutions. Rockhurst University is currently revamping our data governance, so in this interactive discussion, we will explore the evolving world of data governance, sharing insights, strategies, and experiences from our various organizations

Click to view slide deck

Notes and questions

• Democratizing Data for Informed Decision-Making

Presented by: Michael Taft, ZogoTech

Join us as we explore how institutions are revolutionizing the way they manage and utilize data, turning it into a valuable resource for institutional improvement and student success. We’ll teach you how to seamlessly gather data from sources like SIS, LMS, and degree audit systems, to create a comprehensive and reliable source of information that leads to faster, more accurate insights. Learn how Institutional Researchers and Administrators can effortlessly navigate and perform in-depth analyses, from "what-if" scenarios to on-the-fly reports, while faculty and staff are empowered to translate their personal data into actionable strategies