Office of Institutional Research, Analytics & Assessment
About Us
Institutional Research, Analytics & Assessment (IRAA) is WPI’s central resource for university data, analysis, and insight. We work with partners across campus to support decision-making, strengthen programs, and ensure the university has clear, reliable information. Our work spans analysis, official reporting, interactive dashboards, survey research, and assessment, and is grounded in data quality and university definitions.
How Our Office Helps the WPI Community
Institutional Reporting & Compliance
What we do: We produce accurate, timely, and consistent institutional reports that support planning, accountability, and external requirements.
This includes:
- IPEDS, accreditation, and mandated reporting
- Official metrics and dashboards
- External surveys and benchmarking
Analytics, Insights & Decision Support
What we do: We analyze data, interpret trends, and provide contextual insight that helps campus partners understand patterns, evaluate performance, and make informed decisions.
This includes:
- Trend and cohort analysis
- Interpretative analysis and storytelling
- Planning and improvement support
- Consultative decision support
Assessment & Accreditation
What we do: We support institutional, programmatic, and co‑curricular assessment to strengthen educational effectiveness and demonstrate continuous improvement.
This includes:
- Academic program assessment support
- General education and student learning outcomes assessment
- Course and instructional assessment (including course evaluations)
- Engineering and specialized accreditation support (e.g., ABET)
- Survey design, administration, and interpretation for assessment purposes
- Alignment of assessment evidence with accreditation standards (e.g., NECHE)
Academic Systems, Integrations & Data Operations
What we do: maintain the university’s academic data ecosystem by supporting the systems, data infrastructure, and operational processes used across the Division of Academic Affairs. We partner with academic departments and administrative offices to ensure institutional systems are reliable, integrated, supported, and scalable with accurate and accessible data.
This includes:
- Academic Systems Administration: Workday Student configuration, security, and business processes; duplicate record resolution. Faculty appointment workflows and academic operations support.
- Workday Security Management: ensuring users have appropriate role-based access to student records, academic data, and appointment information while maintaining institutional security standards
- Data Management and EIB Processing: manages structured data imports and exports through Enterprise Interface Builder (EIB) processes, supporting updates to courses, academic appointments, student records, advisor assignments, and other operational datasets.
- Reporting and Dashboards: developing and maintaining Workday reports, PowerBI dashboards, and Redshift reporting to support operational monitoring, decision-making, and data transparency across Academic Affairs. Integrations with Slate, Salesforce, Canvas, InfoEd, Fusion, Alma, Watermark, Wellspring
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Process Automation: workflow automation and operational process support using tools such as Power Automate, SharePoint, and PowerBI.
Business Intelligence, Reporting Services & Data Tools Support
What we do: We enable departments to access, understand, and use data through standard reports, dashboards, and data tools.
This includes:
- Power BI dashboards
- Workday operational reports
- Redshift-based reporting
- Training, documentation and consultation
- Support for self-service reporting
Data Stewardship & Governance
What we do: We promote consistent definitions, trusted data, and shared standards to ensure confidence in institutional data.
This includes:
- Data definitions and documentation
- Governance participation and leadership
- Data quality and validation processes
- Metric standardization and alignment
Mission
IRAA is the university’s trusted source for accurate, timely, and well‑governed institutional data. We ensure information is consistent, reliable, and actionable across reporting, academic operations, and evidence‑based decision‑making.
We partner with faculty, staff, and leadership to support effective academic processes, analyze and interpret data, and connect insights that advance planning, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Values
- Integrity & Ethics: We follow AIR’s ethical principles and handle institutional data responsibly, with transparency and respect for privacy.
- Accuracy & Timeliness: We use professional judgment to deliver reporting that is both reliable and timely.
- Consistency: We use shared definitions and standards so data is comparable and meaningful across the institution.
- Clarity: We present data with appropriate context and limitations so it can be understood and used correctly.
- Partnership: We work collaboratively with faculty and staff, respecting disciplinary expertise while maintaining an institutional view.