Coordinator, Ithaka S+R

The Role

ITHAKA is offering a 3-month fixed-term position, Coordinator, Ithaka S+R, who will contribute to a research and evaluation project that examines accreditation processes and policies across postsecondary education. The overall goal of the project is to improve quality assurance practices across the sector by studying accreditation, a significant mechanism of institutional oversight. In particular, S+R is seeking to understand the relationship between the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI –a federal regulatory body), and accreditors (the agencies vested with the responsibility of ensuring educational quality at colleges and universities), in order to improve both institution accreditation and agency review processes. As part of the study, S+R will also assess the impact of current accreditation practices and offer recommendations to NACIQI concerning improvements to the oversight body’s accreditor review and approval processes. The findings will inform federal education policymaking and have the potential to contribute to improvements in educational quality for students.

The Coordinator, Ithaka S+R will contribute to the Corrective Action Letters and Standards Review workstreams of this project. You will assist the project team’s examination of the use of corrective action letters. These are letters issued to an institution by an accreditor which cite specific reasons for concern and recommended steps to rectify institutional practices. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) has made corrective action letters publicly available. In this phase of work, the project team will collect, code, and analyze data from the letters, as well as key actions taken by accreditors. This will help determine their efficacy as a mechanism of institutional improvement, as well as any downstream impact on student outcomes. These outcomes may include a number of measures, but most commonly graduation rates, retention rates, cohort default rates, median debt, and median earnings. Contributions to the standards review workstream will include the planning of a classification scheme that will allow researchers to more easily compare accreditor standards, allowing for a comprehensive review of standards across time and accreditor. You will also contribute to the data collection and execution of the planned classification scheme, as well as the accompanying policy brief.

Responsibilities

The Coordinator, Ithaka S+R’s primary responsibility will be to lead the analysis for the Corrective Action Letters workstream of the accreditation research and evaluation project described above, with the goal of producing a blog post in the first month of the extension. This will involve managing a complex research process comprising several subtasks, to be determined in collaboration with, and guided by, the Coordinator, Ithaka S+R’s supervisor. 

The analysis will also involve describing the dataset and searching for trends across different types of institutions represented within it. The Coordinator, Ithaka S+R will also work collaboratively with their supervisor on developing a plan of action for the standards classification scheme and executing on it.

Learning objectives: 

• Gain experience working in a professional research environment.
• Gain or deepen public policy research experience. 
• Acquire or improve key research skills, including data collection, analysis, qualitative research, blog post writing, and report writing.  
• Gain or deepen knowledge of the higher education sector: in particular, of key stakeholders, issues, and policy shaping the accreditation space. 
• Gain experience translating research findings for a broad audience via publications or presentations.

Experience and Skills

The candidate will have a combination of 1-3 years of experience in the following:

• Managing projects;
• Collecting qualitative data;
• Analyzing trends in qualitative data;
• Identifying and categorizing themes in publications;
• Synthesizing findings into short paper or report length publications; 
• Working in a professional research environment.

The candidate will also have particular knowledge about the accreditation system in higher education, including knowledge about the use of commission action letters by accreditors, and the evolution of accreditor standards.

Work Authorization and Sponsorship 

ITHAKA is not currently considering candidates who require any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States.

Compensation and Benefits

At ITHAKA we believe in openness and equity. Part of living those values is our commitment to clarity about salary ranges, so candidates know what to expect. The starting salary for this position ranges from $24.03 per hour. Starting pay may vary with job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.