Institutional Research Analyst III (2 Positions)

Job Summary Reporting to the Senior Director of Institutional Research and Strategic Analytics, the Institutional Research Analyst III supports a wide variety of research projects that include both simple and sophisticated data gathering, analysis, and reporting. The role contributes to meeting institutional, federal, and accreditation requirements, and provides comprehensive data management, programming, and analytical support to IRSA, Academic Affairs, and other campus constituents related to institutional or system priorities. This role will perform complex research studies that help foster a better understanding of institutional efficacy. The analyst will coordinate the compilation and submission of institutional data to internal and external organizations, manage projects largely independently, and help coordinate and cross‑train IRSA staff, including research technicians, programmers, and student assistants. The position is responsible for maintaining the accuracy, validity, reliability, and usability of data delivered to stakeholders, supporting data literacy campus‑wide. Key Responsibilities Report institutional data to internal and external organizations related to institutional or system priorities, mandated or required information, and accreditation requirements. Inventory and manage data and research requests, and identify the appropriate group, support, and resources needed to ensure the requirements for the request will be addressed. Develop and/or provide expertise related to appropriate theoretical frameworks, research designs, and methodological approaches to facilitate producing research studies that present timely, relevant, and consequential findings and insights. Consult and provide expertise related to available and appropriate data to meet requirements for requests as well as provide guidance to ensure findings and results are interpreted and described accurately. Design and conduct relevant data analyses by applying appropriate research methodologies and statistical techniques related to the requirements outlined for each project. Perform quality checks on own work and the work of other contributors, when applicable. Maintain and build relevant dashboards that are comprehensive and accessible for consumers to use. Apply various data visualization techniques to develop user‑friendly reports, dashboards, and presentations to communicate key trends related to various topics that highlight strategic initiatives at the institutional and system levels including assigned projects. Develop systematic reporting capabilities, documentation, and web‑based sites related to assigned projects to support operational continuity and departmental productivity. Develop a detailed understanding of and subject matter expertise related to institutional data, databases, and platforms (e.g., SAMI Gateway, Spartan Connect, Campus Data Warehouse) to perform analyses related to evaluation and research studies. Write queries, integrate data sources, and develop business logic to build data sets for use to conduct various analyses, create reports and dashboards. Manage and clean large datasets for optimizing reporting and efficiency. Provide appropriate explanations of information resources based on operational definitions from relevant data dictionaries that are in use at SJSU and the CSU. Identify, investigate, and work to resolve data quality issues with relevant data being used across IRSA and other IRSA interfaces to ensure accurate reporting of information. Perform technical tasks and provide technical support on data collection, aggregation, analytics, and assigned research and evaluation activities. Provide documentation, user support, and access to data sources as required. Develop, maintain, and enhance relevant databases by serving as a strategic business partner to cultivate and integrate data from a range of sources. Cross‑train colleagues and university stakeholders related to appropriate information, knowledge, skills, and competencies about managing, using, and reporting data. Support and engage in a wide range of complex evaluation and applied research studies. Examine and analyze practices, programs, and policies—including various key initiatives related to student success—to measure effectiveness and/or impact. Provide research support for projects related to program planning, assessment, accreditation, and academic scheduling. Contribute to research projects involving analyses of student success and program outcomes using university data. Apply appropriate statistical and modeling techniques related to enrollment management, faculty workload, and student success including trend analysis, predictive and scenario modeling. Develop content and methodological knowledge of common practices in qualitative and quantitative approaches in higher education settings. Facilitate formative and summative evaluation processes for IRSA using institutional and programmatic data through the application of mixed methodologies to analyze effectiveness and impact for planning and decision‑making purposes. Prepare informative reports and presentations of professional quality to facilitate the interpretation and utilization of data by an audience of institutional stakeholders. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Ability to communicate with constituents in a professional and respectful manner. Understand and apply appropriate survey, evaluation, and research designs and methodologies to measure institutional, programmatic, and key initiatives’ effectiveness and/or impact. Knowledge and ability to use data information systems (e.g., PeopleSoft & Campus Data Warehouse) to build dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Power BI). Project management skills, including clear and concise communication; organization, time, and task management abilities; planning and scheduling; technical and research knowledge; and adeptness in relationship and team building. Ability to manage and oversee multiple programs’ operational needs, coordinate logistics to ensure timely delivery of work products, and provide recommendations for areas of improvement. Ability to apply an analytic mindset and use appropriate techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of policies, programs, and practices. Proficient writing and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate technical details to nontechnical audiences. Ability to identify important insights from various data and program sources and suggest implications for university policy and practices. Ability to support academic leaders on their enrollment, program, assessment, and scheduling management practices. Understand academic policies and programs to support planning, accreditation, and assessment to help evaluate effectiveness. Ability to write original and edit existing queries using SQL. Ability to apply general statistical techniques, such as tests of difference and association (e.g., t‑tests, ANOVA, correlation, regression). General knowledge to perform descriptive statistics and ability to learn and apply statistical models in software packages such as IBM SPSS, SAS, Stata, and/or R using command syntax. Data management skills and the ability to generate, query, merge, transform, and restructure data sets and account for missing, duplicated, and unmatched data using SQL and similar techniques. Ability to learn and apply best practices related to statistical models in enrollment planning (e.g., regression, moving average). Ability to test and refine numerical projection techniques in tools such as Excel, SPSS, and R. Ability to explain statistical and quantitative issues to a variety of audiences. Ability to produce tables and graphical analyses in software systems such as Tableau and Microsoft Excel. Knowledge of data presentation conventions and techniques. Required Qualifications Equivalent to graduation from a four‑year college or university. Additional qualifying professional experience may be substituted for the required education on a year‑for‑year basis. Three years of progressively responsible technical research or statistical experience including or supplemented by one year in the interpretation and graphic presentation of data. Graduate study in the social sciences, economics, mathematics, statistics, public or business administration or engineering may be substituted for the required experience on a year‑for‑year basis. Preferred Qualifications Master’s degree in education, social sciences, economics, computer science, data analytics, mathematics, statistics, public or business administration, computer or data science, or other related fields. Three or more years of experience in a similar function. Experience in higher education research, coding/programming, project management, enrollment management and/or scheduling concepts and procedures. Experience running statistical models and predictions (such as linear and binary regressions) on higher education data sets. Experience working directly in Institutional Research/Institutional Effectiveness, Assessment, and/or Data Analytics/Business Intelligence offices. Compensation Classification: Research Technician III Anticipated Hiring Range: $6,501/month – $6,763/month (Step 9 – Step 11) CSU Salary Range: $5,548/month – $8,083/month (Step 1 – Step 20) San José State University offers a comprehensive benefits package typically worth 30–35 % of base salary. Background Check Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. The standard background check includes a criminal check, employment and education verification. Depending on the position, a motor vehicle and/or credit check may be required. All background checks are conducted through the university’s third‑party vendor, Accurate Background. Equal Employment Statement San José State University is an equal opportunity employer. The university prohibits discrimination based on age, ancestry, caste, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military status, nationality, race, religion, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, sex stereotype, and veteran status. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff, as well as university programs and activities. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and certain other federal and state laws, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs and activities operated by the university (both on and off campus). Reasonable accommodation is made for applicants with disabilities who self‑disclose. San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment. #J-18808-Ljbffr The California State University