Linegar selected to participate in data project initiative
CHADRON – Chadron State College’s Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness Malinda Linegar has been selected as one of 27 Nebraska Fellows in the inaugural cohort for the Strategic Data Project (SDP). The initiative is a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Nebraska Statewide Workforce & Educational Reporting System (NSWERS) and the Nebraska Strategic Data Leadership Network.
The aim of the partnership is to build a sustainable, statewide model for strategic data leadership that strengthens Nebraska’s educational ecosystem, informs policy and practice, and supports long‑term student success.
Linegar was nominated to participate by CSC Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Kimberly Paddock-O’Reilly.
In April, Linegar and other members of the cohort met for a three-day orientation in Lincoln. The cohort represents Nebraska’s community colleges, the Nebraska State College System, the University of Nebraska System, and Little Priest Tribal College.
Linegar said in addition to meeting the cohort members, it was valuable to learn about each of their strengths and who to turn to as resources on various topics based on their experience.
“At the orientation, the leaders of the program helped us try to be aware of various aspects of the research to consider. Over the next couple months, we're going to work on narrowing down a specific research question and then try to be more focused on understanding what we can do proactively to make interventions earlier and really support students,” Linegar said.
Throughout the course of the two-year fellowship, Linegar will engage in a rigorous sequence of in‑person and virtual workshops trainings, ongoing virtual professional learning, individualized technical support, and cross‑institutional collaboration. She will travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July for a workshop where she will further define her project topic.
She will be paired with an expert SDP faculty adviser to guide her strategic data project aligned with CSC’s priorities and NSWERS’ key outcome indicators.
Cohort projects will address a range of pressing analytic and policy questions including analyzing students’ course taking patterns to identify combinations of courses linked to higher rates of withdrawal or delayed completion, and tracking the relationship between students’ involvement in athletics, student organizations, and retention.
Category: Campus News