NEAIR 34th Annual Conference
November 3-6, 2007
Hyatt Regency
New Brunswick, NJ

 
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"Program-at-a-Glance"
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Conference Program

Plenary Sessions

Sunday Evening, Opening Panel (Nov. 4th):
"Current Accountability Initiatives in Higher Education”
Jerome Rackoff, Assistant Vice President for Planning and IR, Bucknell University; Chair, Board of Directors, Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS)
Michael F. Middaugh, Assistant Vice President of IR and Planning, University of Delaware; Commissioner & Executive Committee Member,
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
C. Anthony Broh, Director of Research Policy, Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE)
There are a variety of ‘accountability’ initiatives that have been introduced since the release of the Spelling Commission, and more appear to be on the horizon.  This panel will discuss a variety of initiatives from the U-Can NAICU project to alternatives being considered by the Annapolis Group to the AASCU project on accountability.  What is behind these initiatives?  Will they serve the purposes that they were intended to serve?  Why are some college and universities not participating in the projects?  How do public and private sector views on these initiatives differ?  These topics and others will be discussed by our panel of institutional researchers from within our very own organization!

Monday Morning Keynote Address (Nov. 5th):
“Getting Reform Back on Track: A Not So Modest Proposal”
Dr. Robert Zemsky, Professor, University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Research on Higher Education; Chair, The Learning Alliance
Changing higher education requires both an understanding that in the US postsecondary education is much more than the loosely-coupled system portrayed in the academic literature and a strategy that focuses on what happens in grades 7-12. The result could be major changes to student financial aid, a closing of the participation gap, and the growth of a student consumer movement that understands quality as well as price.

Tuesday Morning, Opening Panel (Nov. 6th):
U. S. News & World Report Update
Mr. Robert Morse, Director of Data Research, U.S. News & World Report
This presentation will review the 2008 Edition of America's Best Colleges that was published in August 2007 and discuss the various methodology and presentation changes that were made. In addition, there will be a discussion of other methodology and presentation issues being considered for the upcoming 2009 Edition of America's Best Colleges rankings to be published in 2008. Details on the various efforts U.S. News makes to communicate with AIR members will be reviewed.

OR
Studying Transfer Student Transitions

Sharon A.  La Voy, Director of Assessment, Office of IR, Planning and Assessment
Chad Muntz, Senior Research and Policy Analyst, Office of IR, Planning & Assessment, University of Maryland
Transfer students play an important role in fulfilling a university’s mission to provide access to the baccalaureate, as well as helping it meet specific enrollment goals.  In the spring of 2006, the University of Maryland administered a survey of transfer students at the request of multiple campus constituencies interested in the transfer student experience. Areas of study included various aspects of the students’ academic and social transitions.  In this session, we will discuss the history and background of the project, findings, implications and current directions.

Tuesday Morning, Closing Panel (Nov. 6th):
Tips and Tricks of the IR Trade
Charlotte Woodward, Marywood University
Janet Easterling, Seton Hall University
Allan Medwick, Kean University
Terra Schehr, Loyola College in Maryland
Pack your bag for the road, but first toss in a terrific extra tip or two from this session. Our clever panel of practitioners offers counsel on facing the vexing challenges of everyday IR life including, how to dazzle administrators with dashboard indicators made from NSSE benchmarks, creating automated steps for generating data for reports that repeat every year, making sense of the latest improvements in Excel 2007, and learning the secret benefits of Python. Finally, get to know a cost-revenue planning tool that helps you assess academic programs and decide how to best marshal precious resources.   

OR
What Hast Thou Wrought….Lately?  A Colloquium for Experienced Practitioners

James Trainer, Villanova University
Michelle Appel, University of Maryland
Michael Dooris, Pennsylvania State University
This session continues a conversation on how IR and planning offices can continue to offer contributions valued by stakeholders. Especially geared toward practitioners with five years of experience, participants can share thoughts on emerging topics and on approaches (beyond the usual reports) they employ maintaining enthusiasm and keeping their work “fresh”.

Vendors
NEAIR expresses great appreciation to this year's sponsoring vendors.

Events Summary
The NEAIR Conference Team has lots planned -- be sure to attend!

Looking forward to seeing you in New Brunswick!