Events

Keynote Speaker

Data is a powerful tool that can be used to derive evidence to inform decision-making. At the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT), we provide access to over 100 administrative datasets linked at the individual level, some dating back decades. The opportunity to derive evidence at the population level is, thus, unparalleled. Given established partnerships with many educational institutions, student populations can be followed longitudinally, prior to, throughout and following their post-secondary studies within the data. NB-IRDT researchers have used this data to conduct research to inform specific evidence needs of our partners focused on post-secondary students. I will share with you more about the tremendous opportunity offered by using linked administrative data, highlight some of our research focused on post-secondary students, as well as hope to intrigue you to envision your research within these data to address your evidence needs and inform your decision-making.

Speaker bio
Dr. Sandra Magalhaes is a Faculty Research Associate at the University of New Brunswick affiliated with the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT) and Department of Sociology. She received an undergraduate in Health Sciences and Biology and masters in Epidemiology from Western University and a PhD in Epidemiology from McGill University. She is a population health researcher with expertise in epidemiology and biostatistics and the use of population-level administrative data to derived research evidence to support evidence needs of decision-makers in New Brunswick. She is currently leading policy relevant research in collaboration with the Departments of Health and of Environment.

Keynote Panel: Leadership in Institutional Research and Planning: Evolving Careers in a Dynamic Landscape

This panel session explores the critical role of leadership in institutional research and planning, particularly in the context of rapidly changing educational environments. As institutions adapt to emerging challenges, institutional leadership becomes paramount. Panelists from a number of institutions each with a deep background in Institutional Research and Planning will discuss the necessary skills and competencies for effective leadership in institutional research and offer their thoughts on the future of the discipline.

Garry Hansen, Director of Institutional Research and Planning (retired), St. Thomas University

Garry Hansen recently retired as the Director of Institutional Research and Planning at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. A member of CIRPA-ACPRI since 2004, he has presented at numerous conferences on such diverse topics as data governance, the Maclean’s reputational survey, automating enrolment projection, and IR office integration. Garry was co-chair of the 2011 CIRPA-ACPRI conference in Fredericton and served two terms on the Board of Directors of CIRPA-ACPRI as a member-at-large. He holds a BA (Honours) in English from St. Thomas University and an MA in Literature from the University of New Brunswick, and attended York University as a SSHRC doctoral fellow. Currently, he is working as an independent consultant serving as the project manager for St. Thomas University’s strategic planning process.

Connie Phelps, Associate Vice President, Institutional Planning, Analysis, and Quality, Conestoga College

Connie Phelps brings 25 years of expertise in postsecondary research and consulting. Since founding the Office of Institutional Research and Planning at Conestoga in 2011, she has expanded it from a solo operation to a dynamic seven-person team. Additionally, she now oversees a 10-member Institutional Quality Management team. Before joining Conestoga, Connie began her consulting career with Academica Group in 1999, when the firm was a small three-person team. Over 13 years, she advanced to Vice President of Research, managing a team of 8-10 professionals. Connie holds a Bachelor’s degree from Western University and a Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Waterloo.

Mike Krywy, Director Institutional Analysis and Planning, Red River College Polytechnic

Mike Krywy is the Director of Institutional Analysis and Planning at Red River College Polytechnic and former CIRPA President and Board Member. In addition, he was co-chair of the 2023 conference in Winnipeg and has presented at multiple conferences on a variety of topics, most recently related to data structure and business architecture. Mike has over 25 years’ experience in institutional research, market research, data analytics, and evaluation and has spent the last 17 years of his career in post-secondary.

We hope to see you in October!

CIRPA 2024 Conference Co-chairs
Stephen Blair Dove, University of New Brunswick
David Kilfoil, University of New Brunswick

CIRPA is very excited to announce that this year’s workshops are offered at no additional charge! Based on member feedback, our conference schedule has moved workshops to Wednesday – letting you make the most of your weekend! Included with your registration you can select one of the exciting full-day workshops, offered by Microsoft or CIRPA.

If you’ve already signed up, simply return to the registration page to add one of our workshops, a tourism opportunity, or a guest ticket for your travel companion. If you have not yet registered for the conference, the early-bird deadline is coming up on Friday September 13th. The discounted hotel rates are guaranteed to CIRPA delegates who book their rooms before September 18th.

Workshops

Sign up during the registration process (ticket options) to reserve your spot. If you have already registered, simply go back to the registration page and continue through the process until you see your purchased ticket. Click on “Select Ticket Options,” check your choices, save, and continue through the checkout process.

Using R in IRP:  Tricks of the Trade

Sponsored by: CIRPA

In the world of data science and wrangling, R is one of the most popular and useful languages. This session will showcase what some fellow CIRPA members are doing with R as part of their regular workflows, with an eye to sharing useful methods and knowledge. We’ll cover data loading, transformations, reporting options, and web-scraping. Participants can expect to expand their working knowledge of R and take home a functional foundation for future projects. This workshop includes a start-to-finish introduction to web-scraping.

Fraser Hay, Conestoga College
Sarah Resnick, University of Manitoba
Sethulakshmi Sajeev, University of Manitoba

Transforming Data to Empower Institutions with Actionable Insights

In this interactive post-conference workshop, participants will learn about new AI and machine learning tools that can transform their data strategy and deliver more impactful insights. The workshop will begin by sharing examples from across Canada and the globe, to explore the potential impact of leveraging AI and machine learning to enhance insights into student experience both in the classroom and on campus.

The session will explore how higher education institutions are re-imagining their data strategy so they can better leverage data that is collected from multiple sources in order to create unique insights and better inform their institution’s strategic direction. In the era of AI, institutions now have the capacity to leverage new insights that provide a clearer picture of their students’ experiences as well as the predictive models that can deliver more significant impact to transform outcomes.

Participants will then explore how new tools including Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI and Copilot can augment their capacity to mobilize their data and create differentiated insights. In a world café style experience, participants will then identify key actions and barriers to transforming their data strategy that they can apply when they return to their institutions.

Dr. Elka Walsh, AVP Learning, Teaching and Transformation, Microsoft Canada
Karen McGregor, National Azure Lead, Education Segment, Microsoft Canada
Greg Milligan, Senior Account Executive, Microsoft Canada

We hope to see you in October!

CIRPA 2024 Conference Co-chairs
Stephen Blair Dove, University of New Brunswick
David Kilfoil, University of New Brunswick

What better way to enhance your professional development and learning than by joining us in the beautiful city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, alongside your peers?

Join the team at the CIRPA 2024 Annual Conference and learn from your colleagues and leading experts in the post secondary sector as we explore the theme, “Students of Data, Data Serving Students.”

CIRPA-ACPRI (Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association) invites you as we acknowledge we are all students of data, and realize that data can determine many things for our students’ post secondary experience.

While full agenda details are in progress, we don’t want you to miss registering for this fabulous opportunity.

When: October 20-23, 2024
Where: Fredericton, New Brunswick
Who: all post secondary institutional research and planning professionals, and beyond!
Why: to collaborate, congregate and celebrate
How: In-person only – how you get there is up to you, but you can fly in to Fredericton, New Brunswick via Air Canada, Porter or WestJet (unless you are lucky enough to be close enough to drive!)

Watch for our emails as well as posts on Linked In for updates
Save with early bird pricing: Register prior to September 13th.

Sincerely,

CIRPA 2024 Conference Co-chairs
Stephen Blair Dove, University of New Brunswick
David Kilfoil, University of New Brunswick

The deadline to submit proposals for the 2024 CIRPA Conference is extended to May 24, in acknowledgement of work pressures. Session proposals from new presenters are strongly encouraged! Please also pass this message along to IR colleagues who may not currently be members of CIRPA, and who would benefit from the opportunity to present to their professional peers.

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

The conference will be held in-person, at the Fredericton Convention Centre, located in the historic heart of downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick.

We welcome all submissions relevant to the profession of Institutional Research and Planning (IRP), including proposals from professionals in the field of IRP. This includes colleagues at provincial, regional and federal agencies, other associations and organizations, as well as individual scholars with research interests in post-secondary education issues.

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

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 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 24, 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