CLARKSVILLE, TN − A graduate student along with a former employee from APSU recently received the Southern Association of Institutional Research’s (SAIR) Best Paper Award. The award is given annually to a paper presented during SAIR’s conference in the fall.
Jodi Carrier, doctoral student at APSU and a lead teacher at Middle College along with Dr. Andrew Luna, currently director of Institutional Effectiveness at the Virginia Military Institute authored “The Matrix Revisited: How a Popular Assessment Tool Can Be Used in Higher Education.”
The paper describes how the Boston Consulting Group Matrix, a successful business strategy tool used since the 1970s, can identify both market growth and market share of academic programs. This type of analysis can help understand where an institution stands on its program offerings and how it can strategize for future growth and success. “When we looked at this model, we saw very few examples of how it was used in higher education,” Luna said. “Not only were we able to show that it works, but we were also able to demonstrate why many colleges and universities facing budget concerns are cutting programs such as English, history, and languages which used to be considered foundational to higher education.”
As part of the Best Paper recognition, both Luna and Carrier are invited to present the paper at the national Association for Institutional Research’s annual conference during the spring in Orlando. Luna, whose position as Executive Director of Decision Support and Institutional research at APSU was unexpectedly eliminated in June, still maintains a permanent residence in Clarksville.
“This is quite an honor,” said Luna who is the only person to receive the award five times since its inception in 1980. “I am very thankful that I was able to work on the article with Jodi who is a strong, up and coming researcher. I am also excited that colleges and universities across the country are realizing the significance and importance of our paper.”