Position Description – Director, Institutional Research and Planning

POSITION DESCRIPTION
Position Title:	Director, Institutional Research and Planning	FLSA Status: Exempt
Reports to:	Chief Information Officer
Department:	Institutional Research and Planning
Date Prepared:	March 2009

BASIC FUNCTION

The Director of Institutional Research and Planning is responsible for developing, administering, and maintaining the planning and assessment processes of the Institution and providing data necessary for effective decision making. This position also exists to maintain compliance with accreditation requirements and to respond to internal, external, formal, and informal requests for data on the College.

NATURE & SCOPE

The Director of Institutional Research and Planning reports to the Chief Information Officer, who assigns work. This position is very project oriented, with the incumbent having the autonomy to make all decisions relative to research and assessment. This position is also responsible for understanding and resolving issues related to research, planning, and assessment that may significantly impact the College’s operations. The incumbent has the latitude to consider courses of action within general College policies, principles, and goals. This position had the autonomy to consider what activities must be undertaken within Institutional Research and Planning in order to achieve the goals of the College.

A main responsibility of the Director of Institutional Research and Planning is to ensure that the College has in place an effective, accountable, and ongoing system of planning and assessment. The incumbent accomplishes this through working with representatives from every unit of the College. This implies that the Director must be a superior communicator. In addition to formulating goals and objectives with these representatives, the incumbent must convince them of the importance of the implementation and assessment of the plans. Strategic planning often involves large group meetings with input from all levels of campus. Input is then compiled and refined into a single document. Reports are made annually on the progress of each unit.

A particularly important function of this position is performing research and compiling reports on special College projects. This research is requested from both internal and external sources. The incumbent must identify the appropriate methods (often surveys) to conduct the research. The information collected must then be documented and analyzed. The reports produced have significant impact on the decisions of the individuals who requested them and influence the direction of the College. The incumbent must be flexible and versatile enough to switch focus from one project (strategic planning, for instance) to another without compromising the quality of work performed.

The incumbent is also responsible for ensuring that ABAC meets standards established by various accreditation agencies. This requires gathering and analyzing data and forming reports. The Director serves as the primary contact with the accreditation agencies, and it is his/her job to remain current in changing standards.

Position Description – Director, Institutional Research and Planning

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

Ø Assesses the functions and educational outcomes of the Institution and provides leadership for the development of program learning outcomes, assessment methodologies, and results analysis

Ø Develops and executes planning processes, activities, and documents

Ø Oversees the accreditation process for the College

Ø Prepares federal reports for submission to the appropriate entities

Ø Designs, develops, administers, records, and analyzes surveys

Ø Collects data and performs research as needed for special requests

Ø Performs other duties when necessary, such as advising students or teaching an orientation course

BUDGETARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director of Institutional Research and Planning has minimal budgetary responsibilities.

SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

This position requires a minimum of a master’s degree and three to five years of work experience. Proficiency in database management, statistical software packages, and data analysis is also required.