AI for Institutional Research Analysts:  Practical Applications & Considerations

AI for Institutional Research Analysts:  Practical Applications & Considerations

William Fulford, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

This workshop explores the practical use of AI tools in the work of institutional research analysts, with a focus on real-world applications. It begins with a foundational overview of how AI works — including its predictive nature, limitations like hallucinations and bias, and issues to be aware of. The core of the session highlights multiple use cases tailored to IR work, including data summarization, coding (SQL and Excel), document extraction, and report automation.

Attendees will gain insights into best practices for using AI effectively without compromising accuracy or compliance. The presentation sets the stage for the hands-on portion of the workshop, where participants will work with these tools and see how they can be integrated into common IR workflows.