Wilson Bright

Building AI capabilities Institutional Researchers in higher education

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

I have put together a small agent to query earnings and income data college wise from the STATS(FVT/GE). It can tell which programs are failing at college. If you are interested, DM me.

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

At the SCAIR conference last week, one of the IR member asked a simple question: If institutions already file to IPEDS, why do we also have to file to the state?

I went down a rabbit hole to look into this question further. Specifically digging into Comission of Higher Educaton at state level. I started with CHEMIS system from South Carolina to find how they are different. I used deep research using Claude for my study and scanning through sources. Below is a quick summary.

IPEDS(@ipeds_nces) = aggregate institutional data (totals, averages)
CHEMIS(@SCCommHigherEd) = student-level records (individual students, individual scholarships, individual courses)

CHEMIS exists because
1. The state administers Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, HOPE, and Need-Based Grants. You can't verify individual scholarship eligibility with IPEDS aggregates.
2. State provisos like 11.15 require granular data IPEDS was never designed to capture like geo-origin of out-of-state students, athletic status to name a few.
3. The SC General Assembly asks questions about student migration, lottery fund expenditure, and retention patterns that are specific to South Carolina. Christopher Robinson and Mariana Manic(Researchers from CHEMIS mentioned this during their talk including measuring employment outcomes and how higher ed data is driving the economy of the state).

It does feel like the real burden lives at the state level where IR offices manage student-level submissions, proviso compliance, scholarship audits, and legislative data requests on top of 12 IPEDS survey components.

And every state has its own version of this.

#InstitutionalResearch #HigherEd #IPEDS

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

Do you work with IPEDS data for benchmarking?

At the SCAIR Conference David Eubanks presented an insightful session on "Shortcut to IPEDS Data using R."

David demonstrated how you can easily access IPEDS data and run longitudinal analysis that helps you make quick decisions - this used to be a weeks-long process.

Key takeaways from the session:

1. Efficiency through automation – Using R to consolidate IPEDS, athletics (EADA), accreditation, and earnings data into a single accessible database eliminates manual data wrangling.

2. Predictive insights – The regression analysis showing test scores correlate with retention illustrates how data can inform strategic decisions about student success.

3. Reproducibility matters – Building scripted workflows transforms IR from reactive reporting to proactive benchmarking and strategic planning.

4. Community learning – The weekly Thursday data sessions create space for IR professionals to collaborate and share tools. I have added the reddit community link.

The shift from "that will take two weeks" to "let me run this analysis" feels transformative for IR field.

David shared all the resources that are needed to get started with IPEDS. He even gave a thumb drive where you can copy all the files to your system to get started.

If you are interested to get started, you can find all the info in r/ThIRsdays in reddit.

Few questions for IR/IE community, How are you using IPEDS data to drive institutional decision-making? What barriers are you still facing in accessing or analyzing IPEDS data?

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

If you are in Higher Ed - give it a check https://t.co/XfNk5Kck9S

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

AI adoption in universities is accelerating.

Google’s Higher Ed Faculty AI Fellowship is building a global community of faculty experimenting with AI in teaching, research, and institutional initiatives.

The real leverage: educators sharing practical implementations across disciplines.

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@markymark Thanks for sharing Mark.

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@jcodeisactive @growthinweb3 Thanks for sharing. Well explained. I built token gated forms, surveys for Web 3. But there are no takers honestly. What do you think should community do to adopt? Is it not being aware?

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@GeorgiosPag @blocksurvey thanksfor sharing George. Appreciate your support!

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@vasuman Check out “insta head shots”.

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

A question for IR/IE members from higher education.

Imagine you wake up tomorrow with the entire IPEDS data - every variable, every institution, every year is readily available to query and have conversations like chatGPT

What would you ask? What would you use it for?

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@SwiggyCares 225355174068128

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@Swiggy I cancelled within a minute to change the payment and got charged 100% cancellation fee. Dark pattern at best. I asked to replace if no refund issued. No help or resolution. Lost 1800. Stressful. You lost me as a customer today.

[Azeem @Azeem_Mohamed_]

Setting up a smooth parallax effect in @rive_app for our Christmas theme - bringing depth to static scenes 🎄

Closer to making @blocksurvey holiday scenes immersive!

#interactive #Christmas

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@Azeem_Mohamed_ @rive_app @blocksurvey Good job Azeem! LIke it.

[Azeem @Azeem_Mohamed_]

Another interactive theme for this holiday season 🎅
Built with @rive_app + @blocksurvey — where surveys meet interactivity.
Ready to find your festive vibe?

[Wilson Bright @wlsnbr]

@Azeem_Mohamed_ @blocksurvey @rive_app Looks great!

[Azeem @Azeem_Mohamed_]

Exploring micro-interactions for @blocksurvey
Built a tiny “Progress bar” in @rive_app
Would love to hear what you think!
#microinteraction

[Azeem @Azeem_Mohamed_]

Testing new doodle-style survey interactions with @blocksurvey x @rive_app
More fun interactions coming your way, stay tuned!

[Azeem @Azeem_Mohamed_]

Sneak peek - glimpse of what’s coming next for interactive surveys!, @blocksurvey new student survey isn’t just survey - it comes alive with animation thanks to @Riveapp .
https://t.co/7HSukLjs6S
We’d love your thoughts. Stay tuned