Managing the IR Workload: Optimizing Institutional Resources

Session Abstract: Institutional Research (IR) offices are experiencing increased reporting burdens from national, state, and accrediting agencies while also supporting growing internal data needs. With increased workload, now is the time to get organized and facilitate collaboration among the IR team. This session will highlight how a newly expanded two-person IR office for sister colleges of nursing (Saint Anthony College of Nursing and Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing) utilized collaboration technology to facilitate communication and organization. What started as an effort to explore technological tools to support collaboration (e.g., Microsoft 365 apps) led to the creation of a shared team virtual workspace that organized their efforts. Participants will examine opportunities to enhance communication and organization within IR offices and apply collaborative technology tools to the IR role.

Keywords: collaboration, project management, workload planning