| dc.description | SATURDAY JUNE 02, 2007
1. Workshop: How to Write and Publish a Research Paper in a Scholarly Journal (W04) 8:00 – 11.30am (Attended & Participated in the Workshop Activities)
Highlights: This half-day workshop taught Institutional Researchers how to write and publish a research paper in one of the higher education journals. The workshop analyzed the elements of a good manuscript, provided a detailed overview of the manuscript review process and how to handle requests for revision, and described potential outlets for research. It also discussed strategies for Institutional Researchers on how to do publishable research while working full-time in the IR office.
2. Workshop: AIR Newcomers Workshop (W18) 12:30 – 4:00pm (Attended & Participated)
Highlights: This workshop was organized for first-time AIR conference participants. The first part of the Workshop presented the origins of AIR: a brief history, a description of the organization, and options for personal involvement. The second part of the workshop presented the history of IR as a field. The final part presented the main areas of Institutional Research work: analysis and reporting, planning, assessment, and decision support.
3. AIR Mentors and Mentees Meeting 5:00 – 6:00pm (Attended & Participated)
Highlights: Organized for mentors to answer questions and explain issues to their mentees.
4. Early Arrivers Reception (Special Event) 5:45pm – Until (Attended & Participated)
Highlights: New comers were organized into dinner groups for a tour of Kansas City downtown to gain a flavour of the City’s night life.
SUNDAY JUNE 03, 2007
5. Workshop: The Next Step toward Institutional Effectiveness: Aligning the Planning Process and Institutional Assessment Program (W27) 8:30 – 11:30am (Attended & Participated)
Highlights: Participants were provided guidance on how to look at their strategic goals and objectives and identify effective measures to show mission effectiveness; shown how to align the institutional planning process with an assessment model that carries institutional effectiveness down to the unit and individual levels; and provision of a Workbook for future use (AU’s mission statement: Removing Barriers, was highly acclaimed and used as a model institutional mission statement and discussed extensively at the workshop)
6. Workshop: Undertaking Alumni Studies (W20) 12:30 – 4:00pm (Attended & Participated:
Highlights: This workshop focused on the dual purposes of alumni research to demonstrate institutional effectiveness and enhance alumni giving. It provided a description of the value of alumni studies within an overall effectiveness strategy; review of the relevant alumni outcomes identified in various studies; considered the advantages and disadvantages of locally designed versus published survey instruments; and discussion of ideas to enhance institutional effectiveness and fund raising via alumni research.
7. Newcomers Reception Sponsored by SAS 4:00 – 5:00pm (Attended)
Highlights: This reception provided an opportunity for AIR newcomers to meet the Newcomers Committee and AIR Board as well as socializing and networking.
8. Poster Session 5:00 – 6:00 Vendor Display and Presentation of assessment, research and planning web and analytical soft-wires and programs in higher education.
Highlights: Attended all, including Understanding Adult Student Expectations and Satisfaction using Importance – Satisfaction Gap Analysis; Using the Acronym “FAMOUS” to Demystify the Assessment Process; Connecting the Evaluation and Assessment Plans to Program Review: Finding a Manageable Link; & The Use of Data Mining to Identify Demographic, Educational and Institutional Factors That Influence Time to Doctoral Degree in Education
9. Plenary Session: “Feeling Shook:” Understanding Violence and Trauma in Young African-American Men 6:15 – 7:20pm (Attended)
10. Forum Reception Sponsored by SPSS 7:30pm – Until (Attended)
MONDAY JUNE 04, 2007
11. Plenary Session: 8:40 – 9:40am: “The Role of Institutional Research and AIR in the Changing Scene of Higher Education.(Attended)
Highlights: The speaker, who is the current executive director of AIR, spoke about the major changes occurring in higher education in North America, including the development of the Internet and the web of information integrating institutions and identified AIR members as central actors implementing these national and, increasingly, global systems.
12. Panel Discussion: Becoming a Published Author: Options, Requirements and Strategies 10:40 -11:20am (Attended)
Highlights: The session provided an overview of AIR publications, the emphasis and desired submission format for each publication; review and selection processes and shared suggestions for preparing papers for submission
13. Research In Action 11:40 – 12:20pm: The Future of the Institutional Research Professional: Right-Brained and Resilient? (Attended)
Highlights: This session focused on the attributes of the Institutional Research professional: analytical left brain, enterprise, perseverance and resilience and how these attributes may be reoriented to meet the changing demands in higher education.
14. Research In Action 1:40 – 2:20pm: Enrolment Patterns, Time-to-Degree and Degree Progression for Baccaluareate Degree Recipients at a Large Urban Public University (Attended).
Highlights: The study provided a descriptive framework of the attendance patterns and time-to-degree in the last ten years, analyzed the relationship between attendance patterns and academic variables, defined and measured the Baccalaureate Degree Progression Index as an alternative approach to examine students’ progression to degree completion.
15. Vendor Demonstration: Snap Survey Software 3:10 – 3:50pm (Attended)
Highlights: This was a demonstration by Vendor of Snap, powerful, user-friendly survey software which has been helping researchers and educators in more than 50 countries world wide. A fully-integrated software for questionnaire design, data collection and analysis, its applications include Course Evaluation, Needs Assessment, Testing, Alumni Surveys, Faculty/Staff Satisfaction Surveys, Longitudinal Studies and much more.
16. Panel Discussion: Theory and Application of Data Mining in Higher Education Research-Why We Do It 4:10 – 4:50pm (Attended)
Highlights: The presentation discussed the theoretical foundation of data mining, addressed key concepts as well as practical use of data mining in institutional research.
17. Poster Session: see previous 5:10 – 5:50pm (Attended)
TUESDAY JUNE 05, 2007
18. AIR Annual Business Meeting 7:30 – 8:20am (Attended)
Highlights: The Annual Report was presented and discussed
19. SCHOLARLY PAPER: An Empirical Test of the Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition Model Using Structural Equation Modelling 8:50 – 9:30am (Attended)
Highlights: The paper used Bean and Metzner model to identify direct and indirect factors that influence nontraditional student attrition in 2-Year Colleges.
20. AIRUM Best Paper: Examining the Timing and Incidence of Student Attrition through Survival Analysis 10:30 – 11:10am (Attended)
Highlights: The paper identified important factors that influence doctoral student academic career and the importance of developing an early warning system to support academic career and improve doctoral graduation rates.
21. Special Event: International Gathering 10:30am – 12:10pm (Attended)
Highlights: Attendees from all nations gathered to meet AIR External Relations Committee and colleagues from around the world. Attendees introduced themselves and discussed the nature of IR work they do in their institutions: Opportunities for networking.
22. RESEARCH IN ACTION: Shaping the Future through Program Reviews 12:30 – 1:10pm (Attended)
Highlights: The session described the advances made in shaping the future using review data in decision-making. The presenters shared their products and effective practices.
23. BEST PAPER PRESENTATION: Improving Retention In Non-Traditional Campus 1:30 – 2:10pm (Attended)
Highlights: The session focused on using various student characteristics and environmental differences to identify factors that may have an impact on the retention of first-time freshmen at a university of mostly non-traditional students.
24. PANEL: Data Mining Tools Compared: Clementine, Enterprise Miner, and Insightful Miner, Using a Common Database 3:00 – 4:40pm (Attended)
Highlights: The session provided a demonstration of the strengths and weaknesses of three-in-one-suite data mining application through the use of a common database. It showed predictive model accuracies, algorithm sophistication, database interface capabilities and graphing.
25. SPECIAL EVENT: Kansas City’s Favourite Barbeque/Baseball at Community/America Stadium 6:00pm – Until (Attended)
WEDNESDAY JUNE 06, 2007
26. RESEARCH IN ACTION: College Dropouts-A Cox Regression Approach 8:40 – 9:20am (Attended)
Highlights: The session used a Cox Regression to identify factors that put students at risk of dropping out, examined different levels of risks, and examined if certain institutional interventions have any impact on student retention.
27. RESEARCH IN ACTION: Graduation and Retention Rates of doctoral Students at a Research university From fall 1994 Through the Present 9:40 – 10:20am (Attended)
Highlights: Using cohort data, the presentation focused on computing five-year and six-year retention and graduation rates of doctoral students and the challenges faced in gathering cohort-based data for analysis. I suggested that the tables and graphs do not provide enough insights and that what is important is to research into the demographic, institutional and environmental factors to explain the low retention rates and slow progression to graduation. Suggestion was well taken.
28. RESEARCH IN ACTION: Expanding IR Horizons-The Use of Mixed Methods in IR 10:40 – 11:20am (Attended)
Highlights: The session focused on the use of mixed methods, the blending of qualitative and quantitative analyses, because of the complex nature of institutional programs and the richer and nuanced analyses they provide, with concrete examples form the presenters’ institutions.
29. RESEARCH IN ACTION: Multivariate Analysis to Determine Factors Related to Student Success in a Nursing Program 11:40 – 12:20pm (Attended)
Highlights: The presentation focused on the use of multivariate instead of univariate methods to a multivariate problem. It showed analyzing student success in an academic or professional program is a multivariate problem and provide better results.
30. SPECIAL EVENT: AIR Awards Luncheon12:30 – 2:30pm (Attended)
Highlights: 2007 Forum celebration luncheon, recognition of accomplishments of AIR award recipients, and preview of the 2008 Forum in Seattle.
31. RESEARCH IN ACTION: Measuring and Prioritizing Online Learners’ Satisfaction 2:50 – 3:30pm (Attended)
Highlights: The session focused on the use of the Noel Levitz’ Priorities Survey for Online Learners (PSOL) to generate results to inform post-hoc analyses and strategic planning.
AIR 2007 FORUM RELEVANCE
The Forum workshop, research in motion, plenary, special event and social activities were very informative professionally as the activities provided insights into what IR is about and new approaches and ways of doing IR to generate information to inform institutional planning, assessment and academic program review, as well as alumni, faculty, staff and student satisfaction surveys. The resources, ideas and knowledge I acquired would greatly provide guidance and inform my IR work at Athabasca University. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | My level of involvement include attending pre-forum workshops as listed above where those institutional and enrolment management topics would be taught, conference sessions where papers on the above-listed topics would be presented and discussed; as well as the provision of information and resources necessary for marketing, competitive positioning, and coalition-building. The new insights, knowledge, ideas and tools for improving institutional research/studies, enrolment management, student retention, time-to-degree and for understanding the adult students which we serve would be immense not only to me but also to the Office of Institutional Studies and Athabasca University. | en |
