Recent Projects
Technical Advisor for the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF4) Grant Evaluation
Tennessee Department of Education and MGT of America (December 2014 – Present)
For this project, Dr. Archer helped MGT draft a winning bid for the three-year evaluation plan of the implementation and impact of new teacher and principal evaluation and compensation systems in three Tennessee school districts. This included developing data specifications for state and district data requests, authoring a survey for teachers to collect attitude and behavioral changes related to the evaluation and compensation systems, and creating an interview protocol for all principals and some teachers in the evaluation districts. The evaluation team included an experienced education professional, two analysts, and support staff who collaborated to conduct analysis of state and county data, survey data, and coded interview data. Four formative reports were co-authored and delivered in July 2015.
Ongoing Data Support
University Innovation Alliance (July 2013 – Present; In partnership with Postsecondary Analytics, LLC)
Archer Analytics, LLC provides ongoing data support for the University Innovation Alliance, an organization of 11 national public research universities. This includes engaging university leadership to develop numerical goals for Alliance initiatives, the development of newly defined student success metrics, and data collection and dissemination among members. Archer Analytics has also created benchmarking reports using national data sources, literature reviews, and other statistical research to support grant application development.
Enrollment Modeling Support
University of Central Florida Institutional Knowledge Management (Aug 2013 – Dec 2014)
Dr. Archer provided technical advice for a conversion of the existing university enrollment model into a more executive-friendly version. Documentation and technical specifications, weekly meeting facilitation, consultation with analysts, and results review were all provided.
Analysis of the Impact of the Changes in the Bright Futures Scholarship
University of Central Florida Institutional Knowledge Management (Aug 2013 – Dec 2014)
Dr. Archer wrote SAS code to pull relevant data from university databases and conduct subsequent analysis. Several statistical models including logistic regression were used to determine significant factors related to student retention. Modeled factors were related to student financial aid, demographics, academic performance, and enrollment patterns.
Strategic Planning Support
University of Central Florida College of Medicine (May 2014)
Dr. Archer assisted in the preparation and facilitation of a discussion by the executive leadership team as they develop new strategic planning initiatives.
Enrollment Modeling
Florida Polytechnic University (March 2013 – Sept 2013; In partnership with Postsecondary Analytics, LLC)
Dr. Archer presented a strategy to the University Board of Trustees Strategic Planning Committee for the development of a university enrollment planning model. Benchmarking data from several external data sources were used to inform the development of an enrollment plan for a new university. Ultimately, a new enrollment management and prediction model was developed and implemented in Excel with a user-friendly interface.
Applying a Proposed Higher Education Productivity Metric
Lumina Foundation – (July 2012-2014).
During this two-year project, Archer Analytics, LLC tested a higher education productivity model as defined in Improving Measurement of Productivity in Higher Education (National Research Council, 2012). The project involved downloading appropriate data and developing SAS code and Excel formulas to apply the described model to all U.S. institutions. The resulting data were presented in an Excel format, as well as Tableau, along with a report of findings and observations. Results were presented to Lumina executives at the foundation’s headquarters and at several subsequent user group meetings to discuss project outcomes.
Benchmarking Data
State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) (June 2011 – Oct 2011)
Provided Postsecondary Analytics and HCM Strategists with data for an interactive webtool intended to help inform policy makers on key data points on U.S. higher education. Pulled data from the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS) and the U.S. Department of Education on Pell grants, fall staff, completions, enrollments and research. Conducted extensive data clean up, merges, and formatting to ensure the data was properly prepared for use in the webtool.
Pell Grant Research
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Oct 2010 – Dec 2010 and April 2011 – June 2011)
Archer Analytics, LLC partnered with HCM Strategists as a subcontractor to Postsecondary Analytics, LLC in 2010 to provide several data tables from the U.S. Department of Education website for use in a research paper regarding the status of the Federal Pell Grant program. Work continued on this topic in 2011 when Archer Analytics conducted more in-depth research on the possible effects on changes to the Federal Pell Grant program. This included collecting data via the internet, survey, and phone interviews with several case study institutions. Quantitative and qualitative results were synthesized and information was presented in easy-to-read report tables.
Topic Research and Report Generation
Complete College America (Feb 2011 – March 2011)
Archer Analytics, LLC provided Postsecondary Analytics in 2011 with a series of reports for presentation at a Complete College America conference. This included report design, internet research, and telephone interviews, and finally report design and implementation. Subject matter included program leveling, transferability of credits among systems of higher education within states, and program mapping initiatives that exist in the states of interest.
Parenting Three Rambunctious Little Boys
24/7 In-Resident Assignment (August 2009 – Present)
Dr. Archer was pleased to assume the title of “mommy” in August 2009 and since then has expanded responsibilities to include a total of three little humans and one canine dependent. Daily duties include regular conflict resolution and high-stakes negotiations, and creating and maintaining an environment that fosters emotional and physical well-being. Responsibilities span from ensuring adequate daily nutritional intake, to planning and executing enrichment and educational activities, and to the instruction of social norms regarding appropriate behavior.