INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH & PLANNING ANALYST 3 - REMOTE (PART-TIME)

Job Posting

For UCOP internal applicants, please login to the internal candidate gateway at: Jobs at UCOP

UC OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

At the University of California (UC), your contributions make a difference. A world leader producing Nobel and Pulitzer Prize recipients with over 150 years of groundbreaking research transforming the world. Choose a career where you can leverage your knowledge, skills and aspirations to inspire and support some of the greatest minds in the world, and those who will follow in their footsteps. Working at the University of California is being part of a unique institution, and a vibrant and diverse community. At the University of California, Office of the President, we propel our mission through impactful work locally, in government centers and systemwide. We are passionate people, serving the greater good.

The University of California, one of the largest and most acclaimed institutions of higher learning in the world, is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research and public service. The University of California Office of the President is the headquarters to the 10 campuses, six academic medical centers and three national laboratories and enrolls premier students from California, the nation and the world. Learn more about the UC Office of the President

Department Overview

The department of Institutional Research and Academic Planning (IRAP) is a central service unit of the Office of the President. IRAP provides timely, accurate, consistent and reliable information about UC and the environment in which it operates. IRAP’s strategic direction is to create a high functioning unit, establish a reliable and flexible data infrastructure, gain efficiencies through automation, increasing awareness and impact of exiting reporting and analyses, advance academic planning, advance equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas of influence, and support decision makers at all levels of the institution. Through evidence-based analyses, IRAP supports and guides enrollment planning, policy creation and revision, program and campus budget reviews, and UC operations. IRAP also produces the annual Accountability Report, which assesses UC’s activities, achievements and operations through data-driven narratives and visualizations. In addition, IRAP provides survey services assisting units across UCOP and the campuses that participate in UC systemwide surveys. This position is part of the IRAP survey team.

Position Summary

The incumbent is a key member of the IRAP team and functions in the following areas: Uses skills as an experienced survey administration professional to develop survey questions, examine survey validity and reliability, and oversee survey administration for a wide variety of purposes. Uses knowledge and experience in higher education and student learning to interpret responses to student survey questions, write reports and topic briefs, and provide suggestions and recommendations for policy change. Uses or develops skills as a data management professional as a member of the data validation team to conduct data validation, resolve issues and errors and support content experts in analyzing the data. When resolving issues, balances practical considerations with industry best practices to determine a solution that fits the situation. For instance, clients in periodic surveys may wish to modify questions to obtain clearer answers; this must be balanced with the importance of comparing responses from the current survey administration with prior administrations. Has experience with industry best practices for working with extremely sensitive personally identifiable information including social security numbers. Can be assigned to sensitive data such as individual responses to Food Security and Campus Climate surveys and can even be assigned to use social security numbers if necessary. Incumbent takes individual responsibility to maintain confidentiality of these data and protects them from any security breach. Incumbent is a primary member of the survey support team which conducts a wide variety of surveys for program offices in UCOP and the campuses. Surveys cover a diverse variety of populations and topics, including ongoing surveys such as the Undergraduate and Graduate Cost of Attendance Surveys, the Graduate Student Support survey, the Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES), and the Graduate Career Pathways Survey. IRAP also conducts one-time surveys for a variety of clients such as the Food Security survey to support a presidential initiative conducted for the campuses. Incumbent can be assigned to any of the periodic or one-time surveys which require understanding and resolving a wide variety of problems. Incumbent is a member of the data validation team and during periods of heavy data validation workload conducts data validation on the wide variety of data types owned by IRAP including in the areas of student, faculty, staff and finance. For assigned data submissions, resolves data problems identified by the different subject matter experts in IRAP as well as gross errors identified by the incumbent. Works to incorporate identified problems into automated processing for future file submissions in assigned areas. Incumbent has a wide toolbox of methods and techniques and uses good judgment when developing an analysis plan for a particular problem. This position is eligible for a remote work arrangement within the state of California, with the expectation of being on-site when required. The selected candidate must reside within the state of California or be willing to relocate. This is 60% contract appointment.

Key Responsibilities

40% Survey Development and Administration: Works on survey development and implementation. Conducts environmental scanning to stay abreast of national trends in survey administration and identifies similar surveys conducted by others to find comparison data for the IRAP survey being conducted. Prepares and implements survey test plans for assigned surveys. A survey test plan includes developing test cases and validating test responses. Monitors server performance and online system during survey data collection period, resolves respondent issues, and discuss marketing strategies to improve response rate. Conduct or assist survey team members and clients in examining survey questions to ensure information collected is reliable and adequate to answer clients’ research questions. Collaborates with UC campus survey coordinators and clients to develop strategies to encourage student participation in the survey study to improve response rate.

20% Survey Data Analysis and Research Support: Research, gather, analyze, and summarize information for survey data research projects in specific subject areas (e.g. student experience, basic needs, student well-being and mental health, campus climate and cost of attendance). Engage in statistical analysis in support of IRAP’s proactive direction and research goals and constituent functional needs. Design research to examine issues related to student experience, completion, and outcomes using multiple data sources such as survey data, institutional data, and external data. Use appropriate methodologies to examine issues and challenges students may have in their college experience and provide recommendations for policy change and improvement of student experience based on evidence from survey research findings.

20% Reporting: Creates survey data reports which summarize survey methodology and present survey results in appropriate ways to a non-technical audience. Supports clients for data analysis and responds to ad hoc requests from UCOP management and others about survey results. Create dashboards and data tables using Tableau to report responses. Produces topic briefs on survey topics.

15% Data Stewardship: Prepares survey data files and codebook for clients. Develops continual improvement processes for data submissions assigned for validation. Develops good working relationships with IRAP content experts and campus data providers in assigned area. Validates survey data and creates datasets based on specifications and the standardized file template for IRAP Digital Commons (i.e., internal data warehouse environment). Works collaboratively with team members to validate survey data as well as other institutional data to ensure data quality and accuracy.

5% Professional Development: Attends classes, seminars, and conferences that enhance expertise. Serves on university wide committees as appropriate and participates in activities that enhance the UC community and support the university mission.

Experience

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 4 years of related experience, which can include graduate work.
  
  

Skills And Abilities

Required Qualifications

• Experience in survey methodologies such as survey question creation and analysis on survey validity and reliability.
• General knowledge in survey administration and analysis techniques including statistics or social science research methods.
• Knowledge of survey tools such as Qualtrics and similar.
• Knowledge of data management and statistical tools such as SAS, DB Visualizer, Tableau, and similar.
• Experience working with sensitive data including survey responses and personally identifiable information.
• Requires knowledge of FERPA and California Individual Practices Act (IPA).
• Able to provide good judgment, decision-making and problem solving.
• Strong ability and desire to present information in a clear concise manner both verbally and in written form and online.
• Ability to multi-task and work on quick turnaround tasks of critical importance.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously with great attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy, and to maintain accurate and detailed records to track project process.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Broad understanding of institutional research as it functions within higher education.
• Broad understanding of policy and practice at the University of California or in higher education in general.
• UC experience with organization rules and regulations surrounding data processing.
  
  

Education

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
  
  

Job Title

Institutional Research Analyst 3

Job Code

006948

Salary Grade

Grade 22

Payscale:

$100,000 - $113,000 ($66,000 to $67,800 for a 60% time position)

The University of California, Office of the President, is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience. The full salary range shows the growth potential for this position and the pay scale is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position.

Benefits: For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University visit: Benefits of Belonging

Additional Information

This is 60% contract appointment.

This position is eligible for a remote work arrangement within the state of California, with the expectation of being on-site when required. The selected candidate must reside within the state of California or be willing to relocate.

How To Apply

Please be prepared to attach a cover letter and resume with your application.

APPLICATION REVIEW DATE

The first review date for this job is November 15, 2024. The position will be open until filled.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Background Check Process: Successful completion of a background check is required for this critical position. Background check process at UCOP

Smoke Free Work Environment: The University of California, Office of the President, is smoke & tobacco-free as of January 1, 2014. UC Smoke & Tobacco Free Policy

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

EEO STATEMENT

The University of California, Office of the President, is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM-20. For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.

The University of California, Office of the President, strives to make this job board accessible to any and all users. If you have comments regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us at: Accessibility or email the Human Resource Department at: epost@ucop.edu.