Senior Research Associate (Research Fellow)

Description:

Senior Research Associate (Working Title: Research Fellow)

National Institute for Student Success

As a national leader in student success, Georgia State uses a robust data infrastructure to gain insights that enhance educational opportunities for students from all backgrounds. To capitalize upon, greatly expand, and better measure the learning that is already happening between Georgia State and partner institutions, the university established the National Institute for Student Success (NISS), which aims to rapidly increase the effective transfer of student-success innovations nationally while allowing Georgia State to develop next-level innovations to benefit students.

Project Description

Over the past fifteen years, Georgia State University (GSU) has increased its graduation rates by 70% and eliminated equity gaps based on students' race, ethnicity, and income level. The improvements can be tracked to a series of data-driven, proactive programs introduced by the university that together constitute a new and highly promising analytics-informed student success model for the quality advising of college students. Given that the components of the model were all launched twelve or more years ago and have been ongoing since, it is both timely and feasible now to extend the assessments to include post-graduation outcomes. By disaggregating GSU students based on program participation, the research will analyze career outcomes using historical records and data-scraping tools. The goal is to understand whether specific aspects of the student success model lead to measurable differences in career outcomes. The insights obtained from this project will improve our understanding of how various programs impact the achievement of strong and equitable career outcomes, especially for students from underserved backgrounds.

The NISS Incubator Research Fellow will contribute significantly to the NISS Research Team's analysis and evaluation efforts. Reporting to the Associate Director of the Incubator, the position will provide critical leadership to, and have accountability over, the NISS Career Outcomes project. The role will require collaboration with GSU Data Administrators and key external partners to develop, collect, and analyze career outcome data. Moreover, the Fellow will guide and validate research, protocols, write reports (internal and external), present results to colleagues, clients, and partners, and coordinate research studies with affiliated faculty. Building upon our goals to increase graduation rates nationally, we aim to strengthen the opportunity pipeline and ensure equitable access to meaningful employment. The position is crucial for innovating student success and career outcomes on a national scale.

WHAT MAKES The National Institute for Student Success Department A GREAT PLACE?

• A flexible work environment
• Generous benefits, including health, dental, vision, tuition assistance, retirement, etc.
• A knowledge-sharing organization that works collaboratively with a variety of partners.
• Professional development opportunity and mentorship
• A rapidly growing center within an academic setting

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Lead the ideation and design of the NISS Career Outcomes Project, offering thought leadership and data analysis expertise.
• Build/implement detailed R&D work plan to fulfill the Project objective(s).
• Provide project management oversight, ensuring effective execution.
• Work closely with NISS personnel and GSU Data Administrators to access and utilize data for research projects.
• Collaborate with external partners and manage all data sharing agreements.
• Employ data collection and analysis methods (such as R, Python) as needed.
• Advance the body of literature on student success innovation and career outcomes
• Adhere to all regulatory, state, and university protocols in the development and submission of publications.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff to identify opportunities for expanding and creating new applications for current student success programs and projects.
• Establish and maintain research and project collaborations with NISS and GSU partners.
• Record, interpret, and present results to senior colleagues, customers, and partners.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant IRB, FERPA, and other regulatory agency requirements.
• Collaborate on the development of program materials including educational materials, marketing materials, websites, forms, and reports.

The above is a general description of duties performed by employees holding this job title and does not represent a complete list of duties that may be assigned to an employee.

Disclaimer:

This job requisition provides a high-level job definition. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive or exclusive list of job duties.

As such, job duties and/or responsibilities within the context of this job requisition may change at the discretion the employee's direct supervisor.

Qualifications:

Minimum Hiring Qualifications:

Master's degree and three (3) years of experience ; a combination of work experience, including training and education, may be substituted for degree.

Preferred Hiring Qualifications:

Proven track record of successfully leading R&D projects from start to finish.

• Knowledge of research design and ability to execute independent research projects.

• Proven ability to manage multiple/competing projects and priorities.

• History of collaborating with various partners to compile, analyze, and interpret data.

• Proficiency with data analysis tools (e.g., R, Python) and familiarity with data-scraping tools and techniques.

Knowledge and experience of data analytics including the ability to clearly communicate findings from complicated analyses.

• Strong attention to detail in order to produce accurate, precise, and reproducible data to support scientific investigations.

• Strong analytical, organizational, and time management skills.

• Experience working with grants.

• Expertise in research design, data collection, and authoring peer-reviewed publications