The Office of Institutional Research and Planning gained a new member in January. Jon Proctor came to Portland State from Colorado to work with the OIRP on general university research, student and faculty surveys, campus climate and assessing student learning.
The Office of Institutional Research and Planning gained a new member in January. Jon Proctor came to Portland State from Colorado to work with the OIRP on general university research, student and faculty surveys, campus climate and assessing student learning.
As an institutional research analyst, Proctor helps with the sampling administered by campus labs; he is currently working on a survey for the Center for Student Health and Counseling.
Generally, Proctor’s research outlines student characteristics and demographics, which the OIRP compiles into Factbooks. For example, demographics listed for the Fall 2011 term include what percentage of those surveyed reported their race, their gender and even their course load. According to the data, freshmen took the highest average course load in the fall —12.6 credits, while seniors took the lowest with 11.4 credits.
For the past eight years, Proctor worked as a consulting analyst with a variety of academic institutions developing surveys and policy recommendations.
“This was a good opportunity to work with institutional research from the inside,” Proctor said. “It’s difficult to effect change as an external consultant, being a data-driven decision-maker and using data to drive decision-making across all departments.”
Proctor’s goal is to create efficiencies, he said, “eliminating duplications of effort and using that information and data to develop policy recommendation.”
Originally from Seattle, Proctor attended school in Bellevue, Wash., before going to the University of Nebraska for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees, eventually earning a doctorate in sociology. He spent 15 years in Nebraska, and while he doesn’t elaborate on that time, he does have fond memories of getting married there and the birth of two of his children. He is an active swimmer and loves the ocean, which you cannot find in the Midwest.
His wife and kids are still in Colorado while they transition into Proctor’s new position at PSU. Proctor stays in Portland during the week, and travels on the weekends.
“The most prominent things about Portland are the closeness to the ocean, the mountains, the different topography,” he said. “Most people don’t like the rain, but I don’t mind it—it keeps everything green.”
Proctor also noted the ease of transportation use in Portland, saying he takes the MAX to work.
Proctor’s research at PSU will involve ad hoc surveys, designing questionnaires and administering the analysis.
