Jason N.

Ast Prov/Dir-Institutional Effctvns/Strategic Plng

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Top Advice

"Learn how to be curious and connect the dots everywhere you can. Then learn how to break down big projects into little projects and make achievements attainable. Being intrinsically motivated and able to create precision roadmaps to success will carry you a long way."

Career path

Northern Michigan University

Ast Prov/Dir-Institutional Effctvns/Strategic Plng

From Sep 2016 to Present

Since 2016, I've led a team of dynamic practitioners who care for the University's data, reporting, research, assessment, accreditation, and strategic planning needs. We seek opportunities to create impact by maximizing value and efficiency, fostering a culture of collective impact, and prioritizing solid planning and goal setting. Effectiveness is in our title, and it is what we do every day.

University of Wisconsin-Stout Applied Research Center

Associate Institutional Planner

From Mar 2014 to Sep 2016

I developed logic models, research goals, evaluation plans and designed to meet the needs of university, non-profit, and grant funded projects. This included implementing evaluations, developing data collection methods, managing mandatory reporting for federal grant programs (NSF and DoE), private grant foundations and state departments. I served as the assessment lead for the ARC Provost's Office contracts to assess student learning, course effectiveness, and program effectiveness. Served as a consultant during university assessment plan revisions including guidance on analytical tools, research methodologies, and processes to utilize data for course/program development and improvement. This included focusing on providing effective and timely information to key university decision makers. I gathered, analyzed, and interpreted data from databases, enrollment management, custom tools, and existing programmatic archival data. I then presented the findings through customized, technical reports with a focus on end user. My work took data fluency concepts such as highlighting actionable data, report theming data visualization, and utility/planning.

About Jason N.

Current Position

Main Motivation

Northern Michigan University is small enough to know nearly everyone who works here while being large enough to explore creative ideas and take careful risks. We support each other and, through that support, our students. NMU is a place where you can grow and feel respected, but also be vulnerable and curious. It's truly an incredible place to work.

Top Advice

Learn how to be curious and connect the dots everywhere you can. Then learn how to break down big projects into little projects and make achievements attainable. Being intrinsically motivated and able to create precision roadmaps to success will carry you a long way.

Greatest Achievement

My greatest accomplishment has been building and leading the Institutional Effectiveness office at Northern Michigan University from the ground up. Starting in 2016 with just 2 people tucked in the corner of another department, I've grown our team to 7 professionals (plus students!) who now serve as the backbone of NMU's data-driven decision making. As Director, I oversee a comprehensive portfolio that includes state and federal reporting, data analytics, enrollment forecasting, student success analytics, university accreditation, assessment support, and strategic planning facilitation. But what I'm most proud of is creating a team culture that mirrors NMU's collaborative spirit—one where every member feels respected, seen, and empowered to contribute to our institution's mission of helping students achieve their goals. The support I've received throughout this journey has been remarkable, and I'm committed to paying it forward by mentoring others who want to build meaningful careers in higher education. At NMU, we don't just analyze data—we transform it into insights that make a real difference in students' lives.