Top 12 Survey Experts at NEAIR 2025: Insights from Leading Speakers

The North East Association for Institutional Research (NEAIR) 2025 Annual Conference brought together higher education professionals to explore cutting-edge approaches to institutional research and survey methodologies.

BlockSurvey, as a Bronze Sponsor, was proud to support this gathering of innovators advancing data-driven decision-making in higher education. This article highlights the key speakers who presented groundbreaking work on survey practices, from AI-powered analysis to fundamental improvements in design and data quality.

AI-Enhanced Survey Analysis

Chengbo Yin & Ziwei Zhang - Applying ML to Survey Data for Student Retention

Chengbo Yin, Director of Institutional Effectiveness at Rutgers University, Newark, leads a dedicated team of analysts in developing strategic and operational data solutions. Together with Ziwei Zhang, a Research Assistant in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at Rutgers University, Newark and Master's student in Information Technology & Analytics at Rutgers Business School, they demonstrated how machine learning techniques can extract predictive insights from institutional survey data.

By combining survey responses from instruments like SERU, NSSE, and first-year surveys with student records, they showcased methods to predict student retention. Their presentation covered principal component analysis (PCA), feature selection, and automated machine learning using tools such as FLAML with CatBoost and LightGBM.

Xilin Zhang & Yi Meng - Strategic AI Integration in IR/IE: Case Studies in Data Governance and Survey

Dr. Xilin Zhang, Associate Director of Institutional Research at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) with a Ph.D. in Systems Science, partnered with Yi Meng, a researcher and administrator in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at NJIT, to co-facilitate an interactive workshop on integrating AI solutions into IR workflows.

They introduced practical, in-house applications of large language models (LLMs), including an AI-powered IR Assistant that provides conversational access to institutional data.

Their custom AI tool automates survey analysis to support curriculum planning, demonstrating how automation can reduce manual reporting while strengthening data governance through consistent definitions and institutional memory preservation.

Transforming Survey Design

Kimberly Livingstone & Rebecca Hatch - Redesigning Surveys to Support Student Success

Kimberly Livingstone, a Research Analyst in the Office of Institutional Research at Tufts University who oversees several university-wide and school-specific surveys, collaborated with Rebecca Hatch, Associate Director in the same office where she leads a team of research analysts and oversees survey research.

Together, they presented a comprehensive case study on redesigning three critical student surveys: an undergraduate entering student survey and two university-wide graduate/professional surveys for admissions and exit. Their project addressed fundamental challenges of misaligned instruments and gaps in capturing the holistic student experience.

The speakers outlined their process of consolidating surveys, integrating stakeholder input, standardizing questions while allowing flexibility for unique needs, and implementing better data processes and dashboard reporting.

Their work demonstrated how strategic survey redesign can yield more coherent and actionable insights throughout the student lifecycle.

Sarah Grobe - Conforming Survey Questions for Longitudinal Analysis

Sarah Grobe, a Data Analyst for the Office of Institutional Research, Analytics, and Consulting at Bowdoin College responsible for developing reports, summaries, and data visualizations to inform decision-making, tackled a persistent challenge in longitudinal survey analysis: question standardization across multiple years.

She presented a custom-built Python and Excel tool that addresses how even minor wording or punctuation changes can disrupt trend analysis.

Her innovative "Conformed Question Library" maps variant phrasings to unified question sets, successfully standardizing over 2,600 questions into 805 unique items spanning nine years of data.

This approach significantly improves consistency and accessibility of survey data for institutional reporting and strategic decision-making.

Amplifying Student Voice in Survey Research

Nyssa Hasan - Leveraging Student Groups to Enrich Survey Insights

Nyssa Hasan shared an innovative approach to enriching survey data by incorporating direct student perspectives. Her institutional research office partnered with Student Life to leverage existing student groups, including Peer Leaders and the Student Government Association, as qualitative data sources.

Through facilitated discussions using semi-structured guides tied to key survey topics, they gathered contextual insights that brought survey findings to life. Students provided valuable perspectives on issues like peer connections and academic preparedness, yielding actionable information to strengthen initiatives promoting student success and belonging on campus.

Enhancing Survey Data Quality and Governance

Cathleen Kisak, John Ingram & Jennifer Wu - Survey Data Collection: Tools, Strategies and Impact

Cathleen Kisak, who has worked in Institutional Research for six years including the past four at Carnegie Mellon University, teamed up with John Ingram, Assistant Director of Institutional Research & Effectiveness at Delaware Valley University and principal of Ingram Market Analytics, a consulting firm assisting higher education institutions with reporting and analysis.

They were joined by Jennifer Wu, Chief Engineering Analytics Officer at Penn State's College of Engineering at the University Park campus, who leads the development and exploration of applied research questions fundamental to institutional effectiveness in engineering higher education.

Together, they led a comprehensive session on improving the efficiency and accuracy of large-scale survey data collection, particularly for external instruments such as U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review rankings surveys.

They shared tools, templates, and communication techniques to streamline survey processes, ensure data quality, and encourage timely submissions. The panelists also demonstrated how to repurpose collected survey data for longitudinal studies, internal analyses, and benchmarking, maximizing the return on investment from these extensive data collection efforts.

Steven Sherrin - Flawed Survey Data: Practical Solutions for IR/IE Professionals

Steven Sherrin conducted an interactive workshop focused on diagnosing and addressing common survey data issues. His session tackled challenges like low response rates, unrepresentative samples, and low-effort responses. Sherrin equipped IR/IE professionals with practical techniques to assess and improve survey data quality using accessible tools such as Excel or R, all within the real-world constraints institutions face.

Conclusion

The survey-focused sessions at NEAIR 2025 revealed a field in dynamic transformation. These speakers demonstrated that modern survey practices must embrace technological innovation while maintaining rigor in design and governance.

From leveraging AI to unlock deeper insights, to redesigning instruments for better alignment with institutional goals, to amplifying student voices, and enforcing quality standards, these presentations collectively charted a course for the future of survey research in higher education.

The insights shared by these speakers provide both immediate practical applications and a visionary framework for how institutions can better gather, analyze, and act upon survey data to serve their students and communities.