The IR/IE Influencer: Guiding Leadership by Leveraging Benchmarking Tools

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM East Coast USA Time

Location: Capitol/Congress

Institution Type: Any

Target Audience: Any

Presenter(s)

EP

Ellen Peters

Director, Strategic Research and Assessment
Council of Independent Colleges
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
KC

Kristina Church

Director, Institutional Effectiveness
The College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, Minnesota, United States
KF

Karen Froslid-Jones

Associate Provost, Academic Planning and Assessment
George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
SH

Seth F. Houston

Founder and CEO
UQ Solutions
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Session Abstract: Demands on staff in offices of institutional research (IR) and institutional effectiveness (IE) have grown exponentially and become unpredictable. This pressure can drive IR/IE to fulfill requests for data and leave little time and energy for the critical work of meaning making and interpretation for decision makers on campus. This session provides strategies for IR/IE professionals to use benchmarking reports to evolve from report generators to advisors. Using their experiences on campus, panelists from two very different institutions will share how they use benchmarking reports to help institutional leaders make informed, strategic decisions. Using a fictional case study with the Council of Independent Colleges' benchmarking reports, participants will gain ideas for shifting from data providers to information interpreters, ultimately improving institutional decision-making.

Keywords: leadership, benchmarking, decision-making