Rob Springer loves numbers.
And in his role as Elon's director of institutional research, he gets
to work with numbers -- all sorts of them -- on a daily basis. From generating
federally mandated reports to making educated forecasts about future enrollment
figures, Springer is Elon's point man for all types of facts and figures.
"I really see my role as being an information provider, both on and off
campus," says Springer, who gathers data about Elon for state and federal
reports, higher-education surveys, college guides and administrative use.
"I try to provide timely and accurate information to help the institution,"
he says.
That information is used in a variety of ways. Springer generates about
20 federal and state reports each year which detail Elon's student profile
in many different ways, from the gender composition of the student body
to the age and ethnicity of each student. Many of those reports are required
for Elon to receive state and federal financial aid dollars. Springer
also coordinates Elon's reporting for various higher-education surveys
and rankings, such as U.S. News & World Report, Kaplan and Peterson's.
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Springer also has a close working relationship with campus administrators,
examining facts, figures and trends to help Elon plan for the future.
"I supply information to the provost's office and senior staff, trying
to make an educated forecast about enrollment," Springer says. Those predictions
help college staff project budgets, predict future needs and stay one
step ahead of the competition.
Much of Springer's work is available on a Web site (http://www.elon.edu/irweb/)
that he created when he came to Elon in 1999. "The information isn't much
good if it isn't supplied in a way that is user-friendly," he says. "The
Web site is a way of making those figures available to everyone."
One of the areas that institutional research is moving into is assessment.
"I really assist with assessment in a consulting role," Springer says.
He monitors benchmarks such as student retention and percentage of faculty
with terminal degrees. Springer also provides comparisons, so Elon can
see how it measures up against schools such as the University of Richmond
and Appalachian State University. "Elon does a good job of looking at
its peer group and trying to move up," he says. "One of the things I like
about Elon is that it's driven to improve. That separates Elon from other
schools."
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Springer calls himself a native of the Tidewater Virginia area, but since
his father was in the Navy, the family moved around to places such as
Florida, California and New Mexico. "We lived all over," he says. "I was
in kindergarten in Clovis, New Mexico, and I can still remember the tornadoes
they had there."
Springer is a 1986 graduate of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.
His wife, Becky, has a background in art history and works with an interactive
art studio for kids in Greensboro. Their daughter, Maggie, was born last
Nov. 13.
Elon is a perfect fit for Springer and his family, he says. "Between the
people, support staff, students and the beautiful setting, it's a total-package
institution," he explains. "It's such a great place to be!"
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