Senior Institutional Research Analyst

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts institution that values the use of institutional data to guide strategic planning, policy, and decision‑making. As the University transitions from its legacy People Soft system to Workday Student, the Office of Institutional Research and Data Analytics is at the forefront of this transformation developing a modern analytics and reporting infrastructure to enhance institutional effectiveness and data‑informed decision‑making.

Reporting to the Director of Institutional Research and Data Analytics, the Senior Institutional Research Analyst serves as both a strategic analyst and a hands‑on researcher.

This position is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting institutional data while also working on analytical initiatives that inform university planning, assessment, and policy development.

The Office of Institutional Research and Data Analytics leads Wesleyan University’s efforts in institutional effectiveness, strategic data use, and decision support especially as the university transitions to modern systems and analytics.

This role performs the full range of research functions from managing compliance reporting (IPEDS, NECHE, guidebooks) and conducting institutional surveys to developing predictive models, dashboards, and reports that support decision making across the University.

• Collect, query, clean, transform, and analyze complex data from multiple systems, including student, admissions, HR, and financial aid databases.
• Prepare and disseminate accurate high quality reports for internal and external audiences, ensuring accuracy and compliance with federal, state and accreditor requirements.
• Oversee recurring external reporting such as IPEDS, Common Data Sets, and guidebook submissions.
• Respond to ad‑hoc data requests and recurring information needs from campus stakeholders.
• Maintain institutional data definitions and documentation to ensure consistency and accuracy of reporting standards across systems.

• Design, administer, and analyze institutional surveys, ensuring high quality and accurate data collection and clear, actionable reporting.
• Conduct studies related to academic outcomes, student success, faculty trends, and operational effectiveness.
• Support accreditation and program review processes by providing data analysis, summaries, and visualizations.
• Compile and maintain benchmarking information on peer institutions and remain informed on current trends and issues in higher education.

• Collect, analyze, and interpret institutional data to inform university policies, planning and support strategic decision making.
• Provide support for grants, teaching evaluations, program reviews, tenure and accreditation reviews and other institutional assessment initiatives.
• Provide relevant data and insights to support strategic planning and decision making.

• Lead the design and delivery of advanced analytical initiatives, including predictive modeling, trend forecasting, and longitudinal analysis to inform institutional direction and planning.
• Develop and maintain dynamic dashboards, data visualizations and presentations that communicate institutional trends to leadership or other non‑technical audiences.
• Translate complex analytical findings into actionable insights and recommendations that guide university strategy policy, and resource allocation.
• Manage complex, institution wide research and analytics projects from design through delivery, ensuring timelines, deliverables, and outcomes align with institutional priorities.

• Collaborate with other departments on initiatives including enrollment, student success, academic programs, and resource planning.
• Partner with administrative and academic departments to understand data needs, define metrics, standardize data definitions, and enhance reporting through targeted analytical support.
• Represent the Office of Institutional Research on institutional committees and external groups.

• Lead and support Wesleyan’s post Workday Student data…