Research InternAt — Cypress College
The Research Intern will support the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness (OIRPE) with applied research and evaluation projects related to student success, institutional effectiveness, and college planning. Under the guidance of OIRPE staff, the intern will assist with the development of two institutional surveys and contribute to an ongoing student persistence study. Responsibilities will include reviewing relevant literature, assisting with survey development, participating in stakeholder and committee meetings, supporting data analysis and interpretation, and contributing to the preparation of research findings. The internship is designed to provide hands-on experience with institutional research practices, stakeholder engagement, survey research, program evaluation, and the use of data to inform college decision-making processes.
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Project 1: Student Drop Survey
The research intern will demonstrate their learning outcomes by assisting the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness (OIRPE) in developing a student drop survey to better understand the reasons and factors associated with students withdrawing from courses. With the OIRPE staff, the research intern will
participate in meetings with OIRPE staff to review proposed questions for clarity and usefulness for decision-making, attend meetings with Academic Senate representatives, document Academic Senate feedback, assist in identifying appropriate uses of the survey results, and help develop a data analysis plan prior to survey administration.
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Project 2: Information Technology Services and Technology Plan Survey
The research intern will demonstrate their learning outcomes by working with the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness (OIRPE) and Information Technology Office to develop an assessment of IT services and progress toward the goals and objectives of the Technology Plan. With the OIRPE staff, the research intern will review the Technology Plan and identify key goals, objectives, or activities that may appropriately be assessed through a survey, meet with IT representatives to understand their assessment needs, draft survey questions, review questions with IT representatives, and develop an analysis plan aligned with key Technology Plan measures and overall IT goals.
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Project 3: Student Persistence Study
The research intern will demonstrate their learning outcomes by assisting the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness (OIRPE) in the next phase of a persistence study examining factors associated with students continuing their enrollment from term to term and from one academic year to the next. With the OIRPE staff, the research intern will conduct a targeted literature review of factors associated with student persistence with particular attention to community college students, assist research staff with reviewing variables currently included in the model, identify additional explanatory variables, review/interpret model outputs, and assist with translating technical findings into accessible language for faculty, administrators, and classified professionals.
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Training:
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The OIRPE staff will provide structured readings an guided training on program evaluation, survey design, research ethics, and the interpretation and use of institutional data. The research intern will work directly with OIRPE project leads to carry out assigned projects, including project planning, stakeholder engagement, research activities, and development of project deliverables. The research intern will participate in weekly OIRPE meetings to observe project development, team collaboration, and research and planning practices. The OIRPE Director will also meet with the research intern weekly to discuss assigned readings, review project process, provide feedback, and connect the concepts introduced through readings to the intern's work on assigned projects.
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Learning Outcomes:
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1. Survey Research and assessment: By the end of the internship, the student will be able to design and support the implementation of institutional research surveys using appropriate research methods, including developing survey questions, identifying appropriate measures, incorporating stakeholder feedback, and developing plans for analyzing, interpreting, and communicating survey results.
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2. Engaging Research Stakeholders: By the end of the internship, the student will be able to engage college stakeholders in collaborative research by gathering input, communicating research limitations and appropriate use of data, consider varying perspectives, and developing research studies that support institutional planning and data-informed decision-making.
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3. By the end of the internship, the student will be able to contribute to a quantitative institutional research study by reviewing relevant literature, incorporating stakeholder feedback, preparing and analyzing student-level data, interpreting statistical results, and translating technical findings into actionable information.