Teachers College - Jobs - Job Details - Senior Research Assistant

Posting Summary:

The Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, studies community colleges because they provide critical access to postsecondary education and are uniquely positioned to promote equity and social mobility in the United States. Our mission is to conduct research that helps these institutions strengthen opportunities and improve outcomes for their students, particularly those from underserved populations.

Job Summary/Basic Function:

CCRC is seeking two part-time Senior Research Assistants to support two quantitative research projects in the college-to-work transition and adult English Learners program areas. Both projects aim to identify individual and institutional factors that predict who will experience successful academic and employment outcomes. As part of the CUNY Policy Lab, the college-to-work transition project will examine different sets of factors that predict a successful transition out of college, including grade point averages, the number of failed/withdrawn courses, attaining a specific grade in foundational math or English courses, switching majors, earning work-based learning credits, enrollment intensity over time (full-time versus part-time status), whether the student completed all courses in the last term of study (a potential flag for planned versus unplanned exits), and so on.

The Adult English Learners project explores the educational experiences and outcomes of adult English learner (EL) students in the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) and will examine the outcomes of adult education English as a Second Language (ESL) enrollees and investigate the barriers students face navigating long ESL course sequences and complicated performance requirements. This program area is understudied, mainly due to adult English learner (EL) students frequently enrolling in noncredit programs, despite their ambitions for obtaining a college credential or improving their status in the workforce.

In this position, the distribution of workload will be divided between two key projects: 35% dedicated to the adult English Learners project and 65% focused on the policy lab initiative. The position’s responsibilities include supporting senior staff, participating in data cleaning, management, and analysis, and assisting in the preparation of project-related reports, presentations, and publications. Candidates should be skilled programmers in Stata and R, have experience working with large datasets, and have a strong background in quantitative methods. Prior experience in both quantitative economic analysis and data management is required. Data visualization skills are highly desirable.

The position may begin immediately and is based in New York City, though the position may be hybrid given Teachers College policies related to the pandemic. Please include with your application a cover letter, resume, and coding sample.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities:

Research planning and management

• Co-lead aspects of the design of existing research projects
• Draft and revise research-related documents, including study prospectus and data collection materials
• Maintain records related to the progress of research and activities
• Assist with the organization and execution of research team meetings (e.g., draft agendas, organize formal note-taking and task-setting)
• Contribute to team meetings in substantive ways
• Independently respond to internal and external requests for information
• Participate in project updates for funders

Data management, collection, and analysis

• Lead data cleaning and coding
• Lead or co-lead aspects of data collection activities
• Use data analysis software or data organizing techniques to manage and analyze data
• Co-lead data analysis using statistical, econometric, and causal inference methods
• Extrapolate research findings from data analysis
• Ensure data documentation, organization, and security

Writing

• Draft and revise analytic memos and reports
• Contribute to the development of report storylines
• Co-author study reports and other written products
• Participate in the CCRC internal paper review process
• Dissemination and Public Relations
• Present research findings at meetings and conferences under the supervision of senior project staff

CCRC service

• Participate in Center events and professional development activities
• As required, serve on working groups to support CCRC’s equity mission and other organizational priorities

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or advanced graduate training in economics, public policy, education policy, or equivalent social science degree
• Experience with managing data and quantitative/statistical software
• Advanced proficiency with Stata and R
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Experience drafting and revising research papers and articles, either independently or as part of a team
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Track record of delivering high-quality work products under deadline
• Good judgment, reliability, ability to work effectively independently and as part of a team

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of community colleges, higher education, and issues of access to and success in postsecondary education
• Graduate-level coursework in economic policy, empirical methods, or program evaluation
• Experience working with large administrative datasets (student data from postsecondary institutions).

CCRC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe that our diversity is essential to our success, and we aim to cultivate a respectful and inclusive environment where all employees are empowered to do their best work. For information about CCRC’s current research activities, mission, and values, please visit ccrc.tc.columbia.edu.

Salary Range:

$32-$36/hour

Work Modality:

Hybrid