NIRSA set to review its data and benchmarking portfolio

In July 2023, NIRSA’s Board of Directors approved a project plan to complete a review of NIRSA’s data and benchmarking offerings and tapped Senior Information Technology Manager at the University of Texas at Austin and Annual Director on the NIRSA Board, Nicole Olmeda to lead the NIRSA Data and Benchmarking Portfolio Review .

The first phase of the approved project plan involves a thorough review of NIRSA’s benchmarking methods. Task Force members will then develop recommendations for collecting and synthesizing data that would be most beneficial to the Association and its members. This may include changes to the Institutional Data Set and Salary Survey benchmarking tools, and improvements to how benchmarking studies done by other members, associations, or industries are shared with members more efficiently.

In addition to Nicole, the leaders working on this phase of the project include:

• Kristy Caldwell, Associate Director at Texas State University
• Marty Dempsey, Senior Associate Director for Facility Operations at University of Florida
• Jason Hermes, Director, Campus Recreation at Boise State University
• Heather Sanderson, Assistant Professor at Meredith College
• Erin O’Sullivan, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships at NIRSA
• Megan Granholm, Member Services Manager at NIRSA

As NIRSA members experience significant changes in the profession and throughout higher education more generally, it is timely to ensure there is a comprehensive inventory of existing data, benchmarking, and research resources. A complete inventory is critical to including understanding how useful existing tools are, what is most needed by the field, and how to best steward the Association’s industry data and benchmarking efforts.

NIRSA’s Research & Assessment Committee, in dialogue with the RSJ Editorial Board, will also play a key role in this work.

The Work Team began preliminary talks in September and plans to submit recommendations to the NIRSA Board of Directors for consideration in the spring of 2024.

Subsequent phases of the approved project plan will involve focused work on industry trends, training tools for members who would like to use NIRSA’s benchmarking data, and strategies for leveraging the data through the development of effective resources for members and industry partners.