Assessment Analyst

Department: University Life

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax

Telework Friendly: Yes

Salary: Starting low 60's and commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

Housing & Residence Life (HRL) is a self-supporting auxiliary organization within the University Life unit of George Mason University. HRL serves a highly diverse population of approximately 6,200 students, the majority of which are undergraduates living in traditional, suite and apartment-style residence halls on three campuses within the vibrant Northern Virginia area. HRL employs over 170 full-time and graduate staff members and over 300 undergraduate student staff members. HRL is committed to providing a safe, well-maintained student-centered environment that is innovative and inclusive of a global community. It is dedicated to creating a home that enriches the experiences of our students, staff and faculty.

About the Position:

Under the supervision of the Associate Director of Housing Operations, the Assessment Analyst provides strategic leadership and ongoing support for the systematic assessment and reporting of Housing and Residence Life (HRL) goals, outcomes, and assessment planning. This position is responsible for maintaining official and recommended practices at the unit level and inform and contribute to our division-level work. The Assessment Analyst is responsible for helping to determine and implement the most appropriate ways to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of the HRL operation. This position works collaboratively with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning as well as the broader University, at times, to ensure thoughtful integration of all efforts. They contribute insight and variable levels of oversight of assessment practices, policies, and systems at a Divisional level that are aligned with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning and Mason at large. The Assessment Analyst's role includes the oversight, development, and execution of an assessment plan for Housing and Residence Life, including the collection, analysis, and organization of data sources and their associated KPI's and/or goals. The Assessment Analyst makes appropriate use of CAS Standards, SACS accreditation requirements, ACUHO-I standards, and other relevant frameworks / compliance guidelines as needed.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for providing guidance on research design, implementation, and logistical support for all Housing and Residence Life (HRL) assessment and evaluation activities;
• Monitors trends observed from assessments of the residential student experience as well as analyze operational unit metrics;
• Responsible for building relationships with professional colleagues, subject matter experts, and HRL leadership to perform analysis, validate findings, and interpret results with the goal of recommending changes to policies or processes;
• Recommends action steps that reflect best practices in various service areas, research industry standards and benchmarking tools to develop metrics that help define success for the HRL unit;
• Develops briefings, reports, and presentations for a variety of audiences to include professional experts, senior leadership, and other constituents;
• Serves as the lead for routine reviews and audits of our operation as requested;
• Serves as a liaison from Housing and Residence Life to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP);
• Serves as unit lead for strategic, annual, and assessment planning, including the development, revision, and goal/metric tracking in coordination with institutional priorities;
• Assists in the analysis of divisional operational data metrics to inform key decisions related to student engagement and service delivery;
• Creates data models to support the development of dashboard reporting tools for the management of student and operational metrics; and
• Assists with the management of University Life reporting requirements using Mason's assessment platform.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree in related field or equivalent combination of experience and education equal to an advanced degree;
• Demonstrated related experience, typically obtained in one or more years in a full-time or equivalent part-time employment capacity;
• Experience with assessment, including survey design, analysis, and reporting, as well as familiarity with statistical methods, data management and data analysis packages (SPSS, SAS, etc.);
• Effective organizational and project management skills, and ability to demonstrate significant attention to detail;
• Skill in effective written and oral communication, including demonstrated presentation skills;
• Proficiency in the use of MS Office Suite;
• Ability to produce concise and insightful summaries of key findings;
• Ability to work independently and as a team member with the ability to provide feedback on assessment initiatives both internal to HRL and externally;
• Ability to engage proactively with assessment practices; and
• Ability to manage several projects simultaneously, keep projects moving forward, and demonstrate the initiative to advance and complete work appropriately.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Full-time experience typically obtained one or more years in educational assessment/research, institutional research, applied statistics, social sciences, or related setting;
• Experience with student affairs higher education;
• Experience with college housing;
• Experience using syntax-based analyses and MS Access database management;
• Familiarity with MicroStrategy database analytic and reporting tool;
• Administrative experience successfully coordinating team projects with others whom one does not supervise;
• Knowledge of on-campus housing and higher education environment;
• Knowledge of assessment practices within higher education;
• Ability to identify assessment gaps within HRL; and
• Ability to benchmark policies, processes, and assessment practices with other higher education institutions.

Instructions to Applicants: For full consideration, applicants must apply for Assessment Analyst at ; complete and submit the online application; and provide a cover letter, resume, and a list of three professional references with contact information.

Posting Open Date: October 20, 2023

For Full Consideration, Apply by: November 3, 2023

Open Until Filled?: Yes