From the Trenches to the Table:
Advancing in Higher Ed Data

00:38Thank you for joining me today for another episode of Data Stakes, where I have conversations with professionals who work directly in the institutional research or effectiveness field or are data adjacent in their role in higher education. Today's conversation will focus on strategies that can contribute to your professional development and growth in your role. My guest today is Mel Jenkins-Simpson. Dr. Jenkins-Simpson is currently the Associate Vice President of Institutional Research at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Prior to this new role, Mel led data work at the University of Alabama at Huntsville as the Assistant Provost of Institutional Research Effectiveness and Assessment, as well as meeting the campus's accreditation needs as their SACSOCH liaison. Finally, Mel also currently serves as a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee for AIR, the Association for Institutional Research. So Mel, it's great to have you on. I always enjoy seeing you, whether it's virtually or at AIR Forum or just anytime we meet up. So congratulations on your new role at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. at your LinkedIn profile, I noticed that you began your career in higher education as a coordinator of institutional research and planning, and today you're a vice president. So let's take some time to talk about your professional journey as an IR and the advice that you can give to our listeners who are interested in advancing their careers. So are you ready? You think so? Okay. So

02:12I think so. Yeah, let's do it.

02:17At what point in your career did you begin setting goals for yourself?

02:22So I've been setting goals all my life. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a drum major. I wanted to lead the band. so early on, you know, I became a drum major at 15 and then did that my junior year, my high school year. And then I thought, I want to be a band director. And then when I got to college, I realized... I don't know if I want to be in the classroom teaching my entire life. And so I had a professor come to me one day and they were like, you know what, you're doing a lot of good work in the social research center on campus. Have you ever thought about just getting your degree in political science? And I thought, never thought about that, but sure, if I'm not going to do music, let's do this other thing where I was building databases and logging all sorts of criminal. justice data. And so that kind of took off. I heeded the advice from that professor and from there it was all research, learning how to do research, learning how to use databases, learning Excel when, you know, Excel was, I don't even know if it was new, but it was like taking off in the early, early late 90s, early 2000s. And so from there I did some work in the federal government. I worked for a senator in DC for a little bit and then I moved to Arkansas, got started my master's degree and started doing more research and data oriented things and just kind of built up my resume in that area. And then I started working for state government in the state of Arkansas for the Department of Human Services. and began as just a research analyst there and within six months I was the research and statistics manager for the Department of Human Services. Now my path projected really quick and all I can say to people is if you love data, if you love to be in the know is what I call it. To be in the know is to know data and to drive change. That's what I always wanted to do and I didn't know where I wanted to do that or how to do that, but I had to start somewhere, you know? And so I started small. I mean, just like any other research analyst out there that wants to get into it, you know, start at the bottom. You're gonna start at the bottom. You can't rise to the top unless you start at the bottom.

04:51That's right.

04:51And so I've been in the trenches my entire career in state government and in higher ed right beside my team. And so to be a good leader and to see yourself advancing, work well with others, you know, have that camaraderie, work well with others, learn how to do basic level statistics, basic level data mining, learning how to read definitions, you have to be a logical thinker to be in this field. And so a lot of reading, even if it's for fun, read for fun, you know. So yeah, so then from there, you know, I started at Delta State University as coordinator of institutional research and I will be flat honest, I did not know what institutional research was. I read the job description and I saw data.

05:20Yes. yeah. Yes.

05:37I got my bachelor's degree from Delta State and I knew I liked living there. And so then the rest is history.

05:43Well, let me circle back to something I didn't know about you. My undergraduate degrees are in music. So my backup plan was to be that band director you didn't think you wanted to be.

05:50Yeah. Yeah, yeah, my minor is in vocal performance and so, you know, it makes sense. So for me, it makes sense because if you are really good with music and reading things and processing, good musician can translate into a good data analyst.

06:01Duh. Absolutely and and the point I'm trying to make so my career path was very different from yours where I re-entered the workforce in my 40s and said what do want to do with the rest of my life now that I'm back and back there and there was a local community college and so I thought what are the skills that I've got that can at least get me in the door?

06:43Mm-hmm.

06:44And you know, it was the general education courses that so many students don't value. Just exactly what you're talking about. Learning how to work with others, good communication skills. I got a job as the assistant to the dean of students. She was an accreditation nut. I got involved in accreditation. Two years later, what do I find myself? The director of institutional effectiveness. And so...

06:49Right? Right?

07:09I always, you talked about reading, I always was a reader, but boy, that really thrust me into the heavy research. Because even though my time spent in data analytics hadn't begun, there is a ton of learning to be done to meet accreditation needs. And I know you know that too. So what types of formal education?

07:13Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right, Yeah.

07:32Content or program focus or degree levels, do you recommend for data professionals who want to move up?

07:40Yeah, so I mean there's so many different degrees now that focus on this that were not available, you know, when I was coming through the process. So my degrees, I've got a bachelor in political science and minor in music. I've got a master's in political science slash public administration. So that helps me with policy analysis and then. My doctorate is an education doctorate in professional studies with a focus in higher ed administration. So if you see yourself going further up the ranks, then any type of, I think, administrative degree will help you. Now, starting out in the field now, I think it's turning to more the deep analytics. So more of data scientist. So a degree in computer science can help you there, or even the data science tracks that institutions are offering. All of that will put you in a position to excel now in institutional research. We're just in a different era than we were when I joined IR. There wasn't dashboards or anything like that. We were sharing Excel spreadsheets. I can still remember printing those large like,

08:48Yes.

08:54Prints and having a ruler and trying to, you know, add up totals. So like I'm really predating myself. yeah, so any type of computer science degree, research scientist, even those certificates in institutional research, I'm sure will play, you know, help you out tremendously. So yeah, yeah, just again,

09:11Yes.

09:18But if you want to, you know, I had someone tell me one time, they told me, they said, you know, you know, if you want to go up in higher ed and work somewhere outside of this institution, you're gonna need a doctorate. And at first I thought, well, that's kind of, you know, I don't think people would not like think less of me if I didn't have a doctorate, you know, I was so naive, but. It's true, for people to really value your knowledge and to be able to speak, I guess maybe to the faculty side of the house, you're gonna need a doctorate. I encourage you to do that. I'm not saying that you can't do the work without it, but it does help.

10:01Yes, yeah, I would agree. And I think it's because when you are at that level in your education, the research that you do becomes more detailed. I think that you learn to really integrate the topics for that. So what other types of professional development opportunities do you recommend? I know for myself, one of my very first IRIE developments was Data and Decisions Academy from AIR. And then after that, I decided I really needed to learn more about qualitative research and student surveying. So I did a couple of classes from Penn State's IR certificate program. And so I think sometimes that colleagues aren't aware of everything that's out. there. So what are you in the know about?

10:49Yeah, so definitely go to AIR's resource page and look up all of the free opportunities you can get from them. mean, you know, as a... I guess here's the thing, like you can find free education just about anywhere now. Like you can go to Khan Academy or other areas, or YouTube. You can look up YouTube for everything now. But AIR has real life professionals in the field who have developed that content that is really strategically thought out. And so I encourage anybody to go out there. That's one of the things I'm like you. I went through a lot of their programs of also have been an IPEDS educator through them. So I've been on the other side of it of developing the content for those programs. So I highly suggest that. But you know, the other thing you can do is look at your own campus. If you are already working in the field, look at your own campus. Look at any of those courses that you could take online, virtually. as you're working your way up. That helped me too, was to get in on those qualitative courses, some extra quantitative pieces to just make sure that I'm keeping myself in the know. Like I still do that now. You know, even after all of my education, I am constantly learning because the field is forever changing. So, you know, even if you've just got your fresh out of grad school, keep learning. Because you've got to grow as things grow.

12:25That is great advice. So let's talk a little bit about soft skills. know, you know it is, everybody thinks we're data nerds that never emerge from our cave on campus. And that might have been true at the beginning of my time, maybe the beginning of your career where IR and IE was found primarily in the information technology world. But now we're out and about all the time.

12:46Mm-hmm.

12:50So what kinds of soft skills have you found to be the most helpful in your career journey?

12:56You know for me, it's have a sense of humor I guess that could be a soft skill Because not everything is always that serious. I mean, yes, we're and I say that kind of tongue-in-cheek because IR can be stressful. We're always trying to meet deadline after deadline after deadline and so you've got to have a sense of calm about you to sometimes get through those high stress situations, so have a sense of humor, but also if you want to work your way up, you've got to be able to speak with a lot of different types of people. And so you've got to have the communication skills to do that and to not be afraid to be in a meeting and speak up. You've got to be able to process as things are coming at you at a high, fast pace to be able to than make informed decisions on behalf of the institution or on behalf of your own office. and I see people kind of hesitant to talk sometimes and that makes me nervous because there's bright people in the room, they have bright ideas and so, you know, that's my biggest thing is don't be afraid to stand out on that ledge and take a stand for something that you believe in.

14:13I would agree. One of the first professional development trips I ever took in my career was to a Noel Levitts conference. And we were given a bit of advice that I have carried throughout my time in higher ed. They were applying it to students, but I applied it to everyone. And they talked about how you would get survey results and you would look at the students' and you would say, that's just not right. How can they think that? How can they believe that? But it was impressed on us that we needed to understand that that was that person's reality. Whether it was right or wrong, it was their reality. That it was our responsibility to figure out what was causing that reality. To take the time to probe, to be able to talk, to be open-minded to how we might be contributing to that reality. And I think that's exactly what you're saying. you have to lay aside any preconceived ideas about what you think that person knows about data or even believes about the metric or the survey or whatever you're trying to accomplish. The other thing I learned is when you're creating written reports because you know we always we have to talk to in my case it's trustees. In your case, you have your own governing body. You have your president. You have your students, have your faculty, your staff. You really, I think, have to know your audience and understand what types of writing is appropriate to each audience. What is it they want to know? What is it they need to know? And then, of course, we could talk all day about the need for data literacy and how that contributes to your ability.

15:56Right.

15:58To create change.

16:00Yeah, yeah, that's why I say, you know, you have to be a reader. You have to be able to interpret between the lines, you know, and my work with the accreditation side of the house, you know, my knowledge there, I didn't realize how much of interpretation that I would have to be doing, you know, on behalf of the institution. And so all I can say is like, do some deep level,

16:08Yes.

16:25Dives into policy. Go out and just read the Higher Education Administration Act. Like I know like it's a boring read right but I'm telling you if you can interpret that you can interpret almost anything.

16:39So are there information sources that you read every day?

16:44Not, not really every day now in the role that I'm in, you know, but, but I was all over the SACCOC listserv. so the Southern Accreditation, Accreditation listserv, I am on the AIR listserv. I read the node. so there, there are some things that, come in my inbox, you know, regularly that, that I stay up on, but, but I always follow the federal register for education. policy. I mean, I've done that for 20 years. But I think that keeps me in the know ahead of time. I encourage people to do that because whatever comes out of the federal government will eventually at some point affect institutional research. I don't think that people, younger professionals understand that. And so, as change comes you're able to adjust and make those the impact for your camp your own campus a little bit less involved. Yeah.

17:39Yes, and I think it's important to actually carve out that time in your schedule each day. I know I trained my coworkers early on not to bother me between 8 8.30 because I would read Inside Higher Ed, I would read The Chronicle, I was always a member of some AIR listserv, the IPEDS listserv, all of that. And that was my time to

17:44Yep, absolutely. Yep. Mm-hmm.

18:05To read and I really felt deprived when I had days when I couldn't start out with that reading. I felt like that reading just really gave me that punch into my day to be productive. So we've talked a little bit about your time as an IPEDS educator and you talked a lot about how your membership in AIR has supported your knowledge growth.

18:16Yep. Yep, absolutely.

18:28Do you mind giving a little message out as a member of the NEC to encourage our listeners to develop volunteer skills?

18:36Absolutely. by vol- I mean, again, back to my high school days, I've been volunteering my entire life just because I feel like there's always a need to give back to whatever has helped you along the way, you know? I have a pay-it-forward mentality. And so, I've served on our regional board. I was the vice president president for that. And Then decided to try to get in more involved in AIR, but I've always volunteered, even when my time at Delta State, volunteering as a proposal reviewer. Like, that's a first step. And I enjoy doing that, I do that almost every year. And then I started writing for AIR. So just little articles here and there, in their e-air newsletter. just because I love reading and writing too. So that's also another place. When AIR asks for volunteers, do it, serve. Get in there, get your hands on what is available to you because even by volunteering, you learn more and more about the association and how you can affect change. And as a member of the NEC, I'm always looking for good people to volunteer to be on the ballot. Now, you can't do that right now because we just closed this ballot cycle. But think about an opportunity for next year to lend your name. can nominate yourself or even reach out to me and I can talk to you through that. through what that process looks like because we're always needing people to serve on that executive board to make sure that we're continuing to grow our knowledge base and our careers and to make sure that the organization is running as smoothly as we possibly can to give back to our members.

20:27Yes, totally, totally agree. All right, so one final question that wasn't in the list I gave you beforehand, are you ready? Okay, so I noticed the university tagline where legends are made on your LinkedIn profile. So my final put you on the spot question is this, what are you working toward today that is gonna drive

20:35Yeah?

20:53The data legend will say about you at the end of your career.

20:58You know, today I'm trying to get more involved in, you know, writing actual articles that speak to what the profession is moving towards. So when we talk about key performance indicators and trying to drive change for the institution, that's what I'm talking about. Because to be able to keep up with the potential enrollment cliff the potential changes with everything that's happening with the federal government. All of these things will shape our profession in the future. And we have to stay on top of what that looks like for us. And half of it, we don't even know what that looks like yet, right? And so I'm trying to do a lot of my research, putting out articles that can potentially help young professionals and professionals at my level learn to work or try to figure out how they can impact change on their campuses. Like our office is forever changing. mean, actually, I mean, I can say this now, as of February 1st, our office will be moving under our president and we will be creating a business analytics unit. So things are changing and things are changing fast. And so we have to be ready to be nimble, be flexible, and go with the flow. Have a sense of humor because change is always inevitable.

22:26That is the one thing we can always count on, isn't it? Well, Mel, it's really been great, again, to see you today, to talk about your career and to listen to all of the valuable advice you have for those of us who are listening in. We are, you know, heading to a retirement cliff also. There are a lot of institutional researchers who are closer to my age.

22:44Yep. Yep.

22:50And we are just about ready to exit the field. And we're really counting on those young professionals. And for me, I'm really excited to see what they're doing when I meet them at AIR Forum and other places. So thanks again. Hope you have a great day and go be a legend.

22:55That's right. No, thank you. All right, roll to head.