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Students of data, data serving students

CIRPA-ACPRI invites you to submit a proposal to present at our upcoming conference, October 20-23, 2024 – Students of data, data serving students. Institutional research inspires a culture of student success through data empowerment. This year’s conference focuses on how data can be used to help students achieve.

The conference will be in person, with activities hosted at the Fredericton Convention Centre, located in the historic heart of downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick.
We welcome all submissions relevant to this year’s theme, including proposals from Institutional research and planning professionals. This includes colleagues at provincial, regional, and federal agencies, other associations and organizations, and individual scholars with research interests in postsecondary education issues.

The submission guidelines and review criteria can be found here. Please complete all proposals using the template provided here.

Submissions are encouraged to align with the conference theme and one or more of the topic areas below and should include realized or potential outcomes (i.e. how research has affected or will affect change):

Action Enablers – This stream covers how an institution or IR team has transformed data to be used broadly to facilitate student success. Emphasis should be placed on the data transformation process and how the resulting information was put into decision-makers hands. Presenters are encouraged to share experiences in leveraging data from diverse sources to create unique insights.

From Start to Finish – Strategic enrolment management (SEM) is a core to institutional stability. How do we determine how many students we can accommodate? What resources are needed to deliver quality educational experiences? How do we incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects? What data-based practices has your institution implemented to maximize graduation rates, reduce attrition and facilitate student engagement? This is an opportunity to present and discuss methods and models for success. How do we map the entire student journey from student surveys to modelling in R?

Eliminating Silos – Often, institutional silos can create barriers to actioning data in service of student success. This stream discusses how data and information have been used at our member institutions to unite various departments (Recruitment, Registrars, Student Service, Institutional Research, etc.) in service of student success. Further topics to consider are partnerships between postsecondary institutions to track student outcomes.

Forecasting Success – In this track, we ask questions such as: how early is early intervention? We will discuss data-based actions to provide support to students. What data is needed to enable success? Models used to forecast retention, graduation and overall positive student outcomes. Presenters are encouraged to demonstrate how they incorporated data from sources such as student surveys into their forecasting activities.

The deadline to submit a proposal(s) is May 10, 2024. Submit your proposal via email to the Programming Committee vicepresident@cirpa-acpri.ca.

We hope you will join us for the CIRPA-ACPRI conference this October!

Sincerely,
Stephen Blair Dove
2024 Program Chair
University of New Brunswick

Emily Clyde-Parry Yaroszko
2024 Local Arrangements Co-Chair
University of Manitoba

David Kilfoil
2024 Local Arrangements Co-Chair
University of New Brunswick

The Nominating Committee is inviting CIRPA members to nominate candidates for the 2024 elections. A nomination form is included separately with this notice.

Please note that the deadline for nominations is May 16, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. PDT.

Elections will be conducted and results announced in June. Each position will be for a two-year term and will become effective immediately following the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The next AGM will be held in October 2024, concurrent with the 2024 conference in Fredericton, NB (October 20 – 23, 2024).

Elected members of the Board of Directors are expected to attend the conference, the AGM and all other meetings as determined by the Board.

Nominees must hold a regular membership for the 2023/24 year (must purchase or renew before May 16, 2024 if not currently a member).

The following positions are open for nomination:
•    Secretary
•    Treasurer
•    Member-at-Large (1 position)
•    Nominating Committee (2 positions – not a member of the Board of Directors)

Please note that each position is for a two-year term.

The Board would like to thank and acknowledge the valued contributions of Zenon Kurjewicz (Secretary) who is completing his second term as Secretary and fourth year on the Board and is not eligible to run for the same Board position this election cycle.

Secretary (detailed position description available upon request)

The Secretary prepares, maintains and distributes the Board’s records, such as the minutes, agendas, correspondence and contracts. The incumbent will assist the President with correspondence as requested, coordinate, assemble and distribute to membership the package for the Annual General meeting and liaise with conference chair(s) for the organization of in-person Board meetings.

Treasurer (detailed position description available upon request)

The Treasurer maintains responsibility for receipt and disbursement of all funds of the Association; establishment and maintenance of appropriate records of all financial transactions; ensuring all expenditures are made within the specifications of approved budgets and have been properly incurred according to the policies of the Association; facilitating the work of the auditor appointed to prepare the financial audit of the Association, and presenting the findings of the auditor to the membership; and developing and maintaining, in consultation with the executive, a budget for the Association.

Member-at-Large (detailed position description available upon request)
Members-at-Large shall be responsible for activities determined by the Board of Directors such as communications, website, and other professional development activities. Assignment of responsibilities shall be determined by the President, in consultation with the members of the Board.

Nominating Committee (not members of the Board of Directors)
The Nominating Committee is composed of a maximum of 5 members. The immediate past president serves as chair and 4 members (2 positions in alternating years) shall be elected as part of the election process. The committee assesses nominations and develops a slate of candidates, reflective of the composition of the membership, for election by the membership.

Only members of the Association holding a regular membership are eligible to stand for election to any of these positions. Members who would like to nominate themselves or other members of the Association for any of the above listed positions should e-mail nominations@cirpa-acpri.ca. Please complete the Nominations Form and include a short biography (250 words or less) and a photo.

Thank you.

2023-24 Nominating Committee
Stephanie McKeown – (chair) University of British Columbia
David Paul – Portage College
Yuqin Gong – University of Prince Edward Island
Neil Chakraborty – University of Toronto

Planning is well underway for the CIRPA Fall Conference 2024 in Fredericton, NB and we have a few announcements about important changes to our conference this year.

In 2024 we are returning to hosting this Fall Conference as an in-person event only. We look forward to welcoming you to Fredericton to take part in excellent professional development and networking opportunities. We will add a fully virtual conference into the regular location rotation. Watch for future updates on that.

We have adjusted the conference schedule by moving optional workshops to Wednesday after the main conference dates. We will offer informal networking opportunities, including options to experience local Fredericton attractions, for those arriving earlier on the weekend. Please plan your travel accordingly. Here is a basic summary of the events available during each of the conference dates:

• Sunday, October 20: optional local tours (additional fees apply) and informal networking room in the afternoon; President’s Reception in the evening (included with conference registration)
• Monday, October 21: full day of regular conference content with social event in the evening (included with conference registration)
• Tuesday, October 22: full day of regular conference content (included with conference registration); optional local tour in evening (additional fees apply)
• Wednesday, October 23: post-conference workshops (additional fees apply)

The Call for Proposals for conference sessions and workshops is coming soon. Also watch our website for upcoming conference updates: https://cirpa-acpri.ca/conferences/2024-fredericton/

We look forward to seeing you in Fredericton in October!

Sincerely,

CIRPA Board of Directors

CIRPA-ACPRI is pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Conference Best Presentation Award: the team from University College of the North, The Pas, Manitoba: Amber Strong, Halla Elnour, Laura Labossiere, and Ashley Blackman.

The topic was ” Unexpected Applications: Leveraging Our New Survey Platform to Enhance UCN’s Strategic & Operational Capabilities.” The selection was based on the session evaluation survey and a review by the Best Presentation Committee members and was unanimously endorsed by the CIRPA Board of Directors.

As part of the award, the team will attend the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) annual forum in Denver, Colorado from May 28 to 31, 2024 where they will present the session as the 2023 CIRPA Best Presentation. To help support the attendance, CIRPA and AIR have a joint agreement to cover up to $2,000 USD for conference expenses.

As a rehearsal for the AIR Forum, the team will also present their session to the CIRPA-ACPRI members via a special webinar – stay tuned for more details!

This year, the CIRPA-ACPRI’s fall conference will take place in Fredericton, New Brunswick. All members of the community are encouraged to consider presenting; it is a great way to keep the community abreast of new and exciting changes, and you could be selected to attend the 2025 AIR Forum in Orlando, Florida.

Congratulations to the deserved winning team from University College of the North!