Current News

The Nominating Committee is inviting CIRPA members to nominate candidates for the 2025 elections.

Please note that the deadline for nominations is May 16, 2025 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 2025, concurrent with the 2025 online conference.

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 2024/25 year (must renew before May 16, 2025).

The following positions are open for nomination:

• President
• Vice President
• Member-at-Large (3 positions)

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

President (detailed job description available upon request)
The Board President shall be the chief executive officer of the Association and shall be responsible for implementing the strategic plans and policies of the Association. The President shall, subject to the authority of the Board, have general supervision of the activities and affairs of the Association. The President represents the Association to external bodies and promotes the highest standards of institutional research and planning. This role is restricted to regular members from post-secondary institutions.

Vice-President (detailed job description available upon request)
The Vice-President oversees membership and is responsible for membership promotion, as well as supporting conference planning.
The Vice-President’s duties also include (but are not limited to):

• Verifying the eligibility of nominated members to sit as a Director of the Association.
• Present candidates for Emeritus status to the Board.

This role is restricted to regular members from post-secondary institutions.

Member-at-Large (detailed job 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.

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.

2024-25 Nominating Committee
Stephanie McKeown – (chair) University of British Columbia
Sonia Beattie – Dalhousie University
Neil Chakraborty – University of Toronto
Yuqin Gong – University of Prince Edward Island
David Paul – Portage College

Here is our regular update from the Association, with a few notes and tidbits for our members. We welcome your suggestions for any additional topics/ recommendations for inclusion in an upcoming message.

2025 CIRPA Virtual Conference: Save the date

As you know, the 2025 CIRPA Annual Conference will be virtual-only and we have the dates: mark your calendars for October 21-23, 2025!

We will be launching the call for session proposals soon; we encourage you start thinking about the projects and expertise you could share in a conference presentation.

The Conference relies on the work of volunteers and supporters. Please consider volunteering – there will be many opportunities to help out – we only need a bit of commitment and enthusiasm.

LinkedIn Updates

We have published the results of the most recent Membership survey on our LinkedIn page, with a few choice highlights from the study – on our members, their responsibilities and perspective on their satisfaction/involvement with the Association.

If you aren’t yet following the page, please subscribe; we are looking to expand our range of communication tools and meet our members where they are active.

Upcoming professional development activities

Our colleagues in the Professional Development Committee are feverishly working to finalize the details of several upcoming online events. Our best presentation winner from the 2024 Conference (Nadia Novikova /OCAS) will be sharing her session in preparation for attending AIR 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

The schedule for the Spring Forum will also be released soon – with the event likely taking place in May.

Kind regards,
Miranda Pearson,
President, Board of Directors,
CIRPA-ACPRI

CIRPA-ACPRI is pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 Conference Best Presentation Award: Nadia Novikova, OCAS.

The topic was “The Linguistic Labyrinth: Natural Language Tools to Support Education and Employment Decisions.” 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 winner will attend the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) annual forum in Orlando, Florida, from May 20 to 23, 2025 to present the session as the 2024 CIRPA Best Presentation. To help support the attendance, CIRPA and AIR have a joint agreement to cover up to $2,000 for conference expenses.

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

Congratulations to Nadia Novikova!

The Best Presentation Committee and the CIRPA Board of Directors also want to recognize the following presentations, in no particular order, that were shortlisted for the award. These sessions were all very strong and a testament to the excellent work occurring within the Canadian institutional research and planning landscape.

• Forecasting Undergraduate Student Enrolment: A Waterloo Case Study presented by Lannois Carroll-Woolery, University of Waterloo
• Bridging Gaps, Building Futures: Leveraging Labor Market Information for Alignment, Employability, and Institutional Excellence presented by Juliana Serje, University of Ottawa
• Closing the Loop: A Strategic Approach to Student Feedback presented by Fraser Hay and Samantha McRae, Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Applied Learning

This year, the CIRPA-ACPRI’s fall conference will take place fully online. 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 2026 AIR Forum in Washington, DC.

We are launching the occasional update from the Association, with a few notes and tidbits for our members – we welcome your suggestions for any additional topics/ recommendations for inclusion in an upcoming message.

Volunteers for the 2025 CIRPA Virtual Conference

As you know, the 2025 CIRPA Annual Conference will be virtual-only – and it will be an opportunity to engage with colleagues more accessibly, without the constraints driven by travel and various budgetary pressures. We hope to take advantage of the format to find new ways to foster dialogue and professional development – bring your ideas!

We are looking for several members to join the planning Committee in various capacities, such as helping out with the call for proposals, communication materials or working behind-the-scenes to ensure technical sessions are working smoothly.

2024 Conference recordings

The conference recordings from the 2024 conference in Fredericton are currently available to attendees and will be available to all CIRPA paid members after December 20th. If you’re curious to hear what your colleagues presented/attended this year – and be inspired for 2025, have a look in our Member portal at the presentations and recordings from this year.

While you’re in the Member portal, check out the stimulating conversations taking place within the discussion forum – open to both regular and limited members. Members from post-secondary institutions also have access to a new neutral space on Product User Experience to share reviews and tips on products and services.

Happy Holidays!

On behalf of the CIRPA Board of Directors, I would like to wish you a happy and joyous holiday season, with plenty of good cheer with family and friends. We look forward to working with you/for you in 2025 and continuing to build the Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association!

Kind regards,
Miranda Pearson,
President, Board of Directors,
CIRPA-ACPRI