Research Analyst

Collects, analyzes, and reports data across academic and administrative areas. Develops and delivers regular and ad hoc reports to meet external reporting requirements and internal data needs. Designs interactive dashboards to support institutional planning, decision-making, and process improvement.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities: Completes Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and Higher Information System (HEI) reporting for the state of Ohio, Student-Right-to Know, and other required submissions.

Designs and develops dashboards and reports in Power BI for internal and external stakeholders. Utilizes advanced SQL (PL/SQL, Oracle) skills to query large datasets, join relational tables, and extract meaningful insights.

Builds and maintains workflow automation solutions to streamline repetitive tasks such as ETL processes, report generation, and dashboard updates.

Establishes data governance and collection methodologies; validates, cleans, and integrates data from multiple sources to ensure accuracy, consistency, and security.

Supports continuous quality improvement initiatives for reporting, analytics, and data integrity.

Develops, implements, maintains, and executes routine standardized and ad hoc reports and common data sets.

Collaborates with department to implement data governance best practices.

Documents data procedures, reporting protocols, and process standards to ensure consistency and transparency.

Other Functions and Responsibilities: Assists with training new hires.

Performs other duties as assigned and/or required that are within the level of responsibility for this classification at the discretion of the supervisor.

Equipment Operated: Computer and all other standard office equipment.

Work Schedule: Typically, Monday through Friday, Potential for remote work.

Supervision Exercised: May exercise supervision over student employees.

Reports to: Director of Institutional Research, Institutional Research and Analytics

Required Certifications, Training, and/or Licensures: None

Knowledge of: University policies and procedures*; office practices and procedures; department/division goals and objectives*; department/division policies and procedures*; workplace safety practices and procedures*; English grammar and spelling; records management; office management; project management.

Skill in: Exhibiting a strong attention to detail and commitment to data integrity; use of office equipment; typing, data entry; computer operation; use of computer software and other programs applicable to the assigned department/division*.

Ability to: Display strong data illustration and explanation capabilities for both internal and externally derived data; effectively manage multiple projects simultaneously; explain capabilities for both internal and externally derived data; work effectively within the data enterprise systems and beyond; ability to work within an organizational structure requiring strong collaboration within an office and with others; collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions; determine material and equipment needs; compile and prepare reports; use proper research methods to gather data; understand a variety of written and/or verbal communications; maintain records according to established procedures; effectively interact with personnel and public to answer routine questions; train or instruct others; move quickly and effectively from one tasks to another; work independently and in a team environment; develop and maintain effective working relationships.

(*) Developed after employment.

Minimum Qualifications: At least a bachelor's degree in a related field such as data analytics, data science, statistics, math, or computer science; and one or more years of relevant experience in data analysis.

Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree. Experience with compliance reporting and surveys for higher education (IPEDS, HEI, CDS, etc.). Experience working in institutional research. Experience with Ellucian Banner and Ellucian Operational Data Store (ODS). Ability to extract, integrate, and model data from these systems. Experience in developing dashboards and reports in Power BI. Strong understanding of data analysis and business intelligence (BI) tools (e.g., Excel, Power BI), as well as statistical and programming tools such as SPSS, SAS, R, Python, and SQL. Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to interpret data and communicate insights effectively. Experience working in higher education.