IC Data Day celebrates and promotes a culture of data-informed decision making for student success at Ithaca College. Data Day is a way to learn, share ideas, and get the conversation started.
2019 IC Data Day will take place on Wednesday, October 30th in Klingenstein and Clark Lounges and the Neeson Marketing Analytics Lab, Room 204, Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise.
2019 IC Data Day ScheduleBreakfast with Alumni in Data Science and Analytics
8:00 - 8:50
Hosted by the Office of Career Services
Attention, students! If you seek employment in data science or analytics, you cannot miss this opportunity. Jason Harris (class of ‘04, Director of Data and Analytics, Integra Partners) and David Drollette (class of ‘05, Vice President of Product Analytics, Aetna Health) share their experiences leading data science and analytics operations for large companies. They also offer advice to aspiring data scientists on how best to prepare yourself to land the job you're looking for.
Opening Remarks
9:00 - 9:10
Laurie Koehler, Vice President of Marketing and Enrollment Strategy
My Analytics Job Experience in AIR (Office of Analytics and Institutional Research)
9:10 - 9:30
Stuti Singh, business administration '21
Yuko Mulugetta, Chief Analytics Officer, AIR
This kick-off session presents Stuti Singh’s (business administration '21) employment experience as a Student Research Analyst in the Office of Analytics and Institutional Research. Her experience is shared in the context of Ithaca Forever as AIR assists the college with implementing the 5-year strategic plan to create a truly student success-centered campus.
Findings from the 2016 and 2019 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
9:30 - 9:50
Elijah Earl, Senior Research Analyst, AIR
Yuko Mulugetta, Chief Analytics Officer, AIR
This session presents findings from the 2016 and 2019 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). NSSE results are expected to play an important role in the context of Ithaca Forever as AIR assists the college with implementing the 5-year strategic plan and measuring the progress and success of the implementation.
Morning Keynote - My Journey In Data Analytics
10:00 - 10:50
Jason Harris (mathematics ’04, economics minor), Director of Data and Analytics, Integra Partners
Jason will outline challenges, obstacles, and lessons learned as he journeyed through the murky definitions of data analysis and data science throughout his career. He will offer perspective on the current job market for data analysts and what employers are looking for (spoiler: They don't know!). Finally, walk through a case study focused on predicting patient admissions for the business development of a home health care provider, and why a decision to deploy a less accurate model was made (and why that wasn't a bad thing).
A 2004 graduate with a BA in mathematics and a minor in economics, Jason Harris is currently the Director of Data and Analytics at Integra Partners. Integra is a benefit management company that connects orthotics and prosthetics providers with health plans and their patients. Jason is helping Integra Partners build their data analytics capabilities and is in the midst of building a team. His experience with analytics and data science spans across several sectors, including time spent as Corporate Vice President of Service Insight and Analytics with New York Life Insurance Company, and Data and Reporting Analyst roles with T. Rowe Price. Jason’s experience with client-facing analytical roles was born from his interest and background in econometrics, where he used that base to dive deeper into work with data science and economic analysis. Jason also earned an MA in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University. He is based in New York City. His brother Gregory is a 2007 IC graduate.
Sakai as a Tool for Retention: Leveraging Learning Analytics and Institutional Data to Improve Student Engagement and Foster Academic Success
11:00 - 11:30
Mary Jo Watts, Learning Application Coordinator, Information Technology, and inaugural President's Fellow
Andrew Siefert, Statistical Modeler, AIR
An inaugural President’s Fellow, Mary Jo Watts spent academic year 2018-19 in the Office of Analytics and Institutional Research learning how to apply analytics to reveal insights into data and tell data-informed stories. This session presents summary findings of her fellowship research using the models that Mary Jo built in collaboration with Andrew Siefert, AIR’s Statistical Modeler. The research has revealed that use of Sakai’s Blog and Lessons tools may boost the 2nd semester retention of low-income and low-ARC score students by as much as 4%. The research also suggests that Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) can work with faculty members to develop high-impact assignments specifically tailored to take advantage of the features unique to these Sakai tools.
Presenting the New Data Science Minor
11:30 - 11:50
David Brown, Professor and Chair, Mathematics
The math department in the School of Humanities and Sciences now offers a minor in data science. This session describes the program, why it was created, and what the requirements are.
Break with light lunch
12:00 - 12:20
Afternoon Keynote - Data Analytics: Where Science Meets Business
12:20 - 1:20
David Drollette (mathematics and physics ‘05), Vice President of Product Analytics, Athena Health
A 2005 graduate with a BA in mathematics and physics, David Drollette currently serves as Vice President of Product Analytics for Athena Health. Athena offers medical record, revenue cycle patient engagement, care coordination, and population health series. In his leadership level role, David leads an analytics team that is at the cutting edge of healthcare management technology, including leading a team of over 50 staff in India. Previously, David was the Senior Director of Analytics at Wayfair, where he led a 180 person team focused on enterprise analytics and data science. David has worked with programs at UMass Amherst and Babson, guest lecturing and advising on analytics and data science-centric curricula. He is based in Needham, Massachusetts. His brother Jesse is a 2003 IC graduate.
STEM Community Building to Support Academic Success and Retention of Low-Income Students
1:30 - 2:00
Kelley Sullivan, Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy
David Brown, Professor and Chair, Mathematics
John Barr, Professor, Computer Science
Matt Thomas, Assistant Professor, Mathematics
The departments of physics, mathematics, and computer science recently received a large grant from the National Science Foundation to support low-income students majoring in the three disciplines through scholarships. In our presentation, we will describe the program, the data that was used to inform the proposal, and outline the data which will be collected during the project.
Utilizing Our Classroom Data: Technology-Enhanced Concept Maps to Organize Curriculum and Support Instructor and Students
2:10 - 2:50
Toby Dragon, Associate Professor, Computer Science
According to current, widespread educational approaches, instructors are expected to develop learning objectives, assist their students in meeting those objectives, and assess the relative success of the process. Instructors face many choices in terms of both materials for the course (textbooks, online resources, interactive experiences, Open Educational Resources, etc.) and assessment of the learning objectives (exams, quizzes, paper exercises, lab work, projects, papers, presentations, etc.). This volume of information offers a wealth of opportunity if we can harness it correctly, but can result in a difficult job for instructors without organization. I argue that concept maps can provide an overarching organization, allowing aggregation and visualization of classroom data to support both instructors and students.
Power Struggle: Anticipating Cyberattacks on the Electric Grid
3:00 - 3:50
Mead Loop, Professor and Director, Sports Media Program
Vaughn Golden, journalism '20
Skylar Eagle, journalism '21
Tara Lynch, journalism '22
Alyssa Spady, journalism '22
Ten Park students produced an in-depth report on cybersecurity with the help of global think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. The students split up into four teams during the weeklong boot camp in June: story and web editors, audio producers, video producers, and data reporters/visualizers. With the help of the center's news team and experts in cyber, the students produced a 3,000-word story, accompanied by three-minute audio and video clips, as well as an infographic that showed the history of cyberattacks in the United States.
Move to the Neeson Marketing Analytics Lab, Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise, Room 204
Analytics at IC Today and Tomorrow - Showcasing New Tools for Marketing Analytics in the Neeson Marketing Analytics Lab
4:00 - 5:00
Scott Erickson, Dana Professor and Chair, Marketing
Bill Tastle, Professor of Systems and Analytics, Management
Julia Schmidt, business administration / theater arts management '20
This final session takes us to the Neeson Marketing Analytics Lab that recently opened in the School of Business. The session focuses on the cutting-edge capabilities of the lab, including software applications associated with John Neeson's '84 former company, SiriusDecisions, Salesforce's Socialsuite for sentiment analysis, and the iMotion eye-tracking and facial scanning system. The Analytics Lab is open for not only business students, but for all IC students who are curious about data and analytics and seeking careers in the data science and analytics field.
Concluding Remarks
Sean Reid, Dean of the School of Business, and David Brown, Professor and Chair of Mathematics