UWG receives SAIR awards

The University of West Georgia received several awards at the recent Southern Association for Institutional Research Conference that took place at the Atlanta Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. The conference was held Oct. 8-11.

The university received the following awards:
1. Best IR (or Institutional Research) Website: Second Place
2. Best Fact Book: Second Place
3. Best Mini Fact Book: Second Place

IR websites are judged in terms of ease of access and aesthetic presentation of data to enhance the use of data and data-based decision making. Judging for Best IR Website is held before the conference. Fact books and mini fact books (brief version of fact book) are ways for institutional researchers to formally present their institutional data and information to the public in print form. Judging for Best Fact Book and Best Mini Fact Book is held onsite during the conference. Director of Institutional Research & Planning, Ebenezer F. Kolajo, said that the university was the only institution in the region to receive three awards out of four award categories this year.

“The receipt of those awards was a humbling experience for me and my colleagues here at the University of West Georgia," said Kolajo. "It is really gratifying if colleagues at-large appreciate your work as a professional model worthy of emulation. We were only hoping to be acknowledged, maybe in one of the four categories, but we ended up being recognized in three categories. The awards are a testament to the quality and professional attributes of the work we do."

The Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR) is dedicated to the advancement of research leading to improved understanding, planning, and operation of institutions of post-secondary education. SAIR provides a forum for the dissemination of information and interchange of ideas on problems of common interest in the field of institutional research. In addition, SAIR promotes the continued professional development of individuals engaging in institutional research and fosters the unity and cooperation among persons having interests and activities related to research.

For more information on SAIR, visit http://www.sair.org/.

For more information on UWG’s Department of Institutional Research & Planning, visit http://www.westga.edu/irp/.