View November 6th Session descriptions

9:00 am – 4:30 pm

Conference Registration Open

 Coffee Service Available

10:00 – 12:00 pm

Pre Conference Workshops

Focus & Flow: Productivity for IR Professionals

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Carole Chabries, PhD 

Become an Excel Pro Quickly and on a Budget

12:00 – 1:15 pm

New Member Orientation

1:20 – 2:15 pm

Concurrent Session

Low Cost Dashboards for Visualizing Data and Supporting Decisions

Excel Spreadsheet

PowerPoint

Tracy Williams, Hamline University

Perfect is the enemy of good: Creating and using a 'good enough' retention prediction index 

Switching the Lens for Another: Rescoring Persistence & Completion Data for Student Responses to Race/Ethnicity

Colleges and Universities 
Tabatha Ries-Miller, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities 

Who's Your Neighbor? Using Nearest-Neighbor Matching to Evaluate Intervention Effectiveness

Presentation

Michelle Borckardt, Gateway
Technical College 

2:30 – 3:15 pm

Concurrent Sessions

The Storyteller's Toolkit: Unleashing the Power of Data

Kristina Church,  College of St.
Scholastica

What has Minnesota been doing? Updates on the Direct Admission program, the 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout, Credentials of Value, and the impact they may have on students and border states.

Aaron Salasek, MN Office of Higher Education

Nicole Whelan,  MN Office of Higher Education

Steve Rogness,  MN Office of Higher Education

Putting the End User First: Enhancing Efficiency and User Experience in the IR/IE Office

Presentation

Trent Brager, University of St.
Thomas

Bryan Helminiak,  University of St. Thomas

3:30 – 4:15 pm

Concurrent Sessions

Using data visualizations to evaluate data aggregation models and refine clinical graduation requirements

Christopher Petrie, Northwestern Health Sciences University

Christopher Smoley,  Northwestern Health Sciences University

RISE 2027-Elevating the Role of IR/IE in Strategic Planning at Viterbo University

Timothy Schorr, Viterbo University

Naomi Stennes-Spidahl, Viterbo
University

Erin Osborn, Century College

Kira Guetschow, Western Technical College

Chris Feit, Northcentral Technical
College

5:00 – 7:00 pm

Social Gathering/Networking

View November 7th Session descriptions

7:00 am – 12:00 pm

Conference Registration Open

7:30 – 8:45 am

Breakfast Buffet

9:00 – 9:45 am

Concurrent Sessions

The use of AI in Data Analytics

Jim Sorenson, University of Mary

Growing Data Governance at MPTC

Presentation

Laura Waurio, Moraine Park Technical College

Effectively Using Continuous Improvement and Innovation to Facilitate Organizational Change

Meridith Wentz, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Brenda Krueger, University of Wisconsin-Stout

10:00 am – 11:45 pm

Keynote

AI Revolution in IR/IE: Empowering Small Offices for Big Impact

Dr. Mike Urmeneta

12:00 – 1:30 pm

Lunch

1:30 – 2:15 pm

Concurrent Sessions

Data Visualization Dashboard Showcase (4 Dashboard presentations 15min each)

Christopher Petrie, Northwestern Health Sciences University 

Ian Dahlinghaus, MSOE

Kelsey Thompson, St. Olaf College 

Ling Ning, Universities of Wisconsin

When Python Met R: A SASsy Love Story Unfolds!

Alyssa Brinkley, SAS Education Manager

Josh Sheinberg, SAS Customer Advisor

The CIP Wizard and the Philosopher's Stone

Allan Joseph Medwick, Ursidae Analytics, LLC

From State to Local: Generalizable Methodology for Setting Performance Targets

Russell Dahlke, Minnesota State System

2:30 – 3:15 pm

Concurrent Sessions

5 Tips and Exercises for Improving Your Productivity With R

Tyler Platz, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College

Utilizing Labor Market Data to Explore Cutting Edge Opportunities for Graduates and the Skills Needed to Succeed 

Leveraging Predictive Analytics for Admissions: The Lead Scoring Project at UW-Eau Claire

Casey Rozowski, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Colton Lunemann, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

The Demographics of Student Loans:  Understanding Differences in Student Debt Burden by Sex and Race and Ethnicity of Minnesota College Graduates, 2021-2022

Maxwell Herrera, Minnesota Office of Higher Education
Nicole Whelan, Minnesota Office of Higher Education

3:30 – 5:00 pm

AIRUM Updates

5:00 – 7:00 pm

Social Gathering/Networking

View November 8th Session descriptions

7:30 – 11:30 am

Coffee/Beverage Service

8:00 – 8:45 am

Concurrent Sessions

Automating workflows and building data dashboards 

Christopher Petrie, Northwestern Health Sciences University

Building a Cost-Effective CRM Alternative using Power BI

Ian Dahlinghaus, MSOE

Analyzing the Instructional Cost of a Degree: A Major-Level Analysis at UW-Eau Claire

Michael Carney, UW-Eau Claire

Analyze & Publicize: Validating Strategic Planning Efforts through Data Storytelling

Heather Rondeau, Alexandria Technical & Community College
Nichole Aber, Alexandria Technical & Community College

9:00 – 9:45 am

Concurrent Sessions

When Graphs Go Bad

Susan Ray, Iowa State University

More General or More Specific? Implications of Specificity of Race/Ethnicity Disaggregation for Policy and Practice

Peter (Jun) Li, University of Minnesota, TCI
Qian Zhao, University of Minnesota, TCI

Closing the Loop: Lessons Learned From a Year of Pocket Surveys 

Presentation

Trina Smith, Luther Seminary 

Essential Metrics—and a Framework—for New Program Identification and Selection

Dr. Seth Houston, UQ Solutions

Dr. Cheryl Norman,  Central Lakes College

10:00 – 11:30 am

Brunch and Closing Remarks