Jayne Pyle, doctoral candidate in UALR’s higher education graduate programs and currently director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Pulaski Technical College, has been selected as one of only 15 in the country selected to participate in the highly competitive database training seminar known as Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 /National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.

The training is sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Pyle, who is the former director of recruitment, distance education, and communication for the UALR College of Business, will attend the seminar Aug. 17 to 19, at the Academy of Education for Educational Development in Washington D.C.

She was selected from candidates representing such distinguished colleges and universities as Connecticut College, George Washington University, Syracuse University, University of California at Davis, University of California Riverside, University of Kansas, University of Washington, Northern Illinois University, and the University of West Florida. Participants were also selected from think tanks and policy research centers including SRI International, the Economic Policy Institute, and Mathematica Policy Research Inc.

“Pyle’s proposal to investigate the influence of high school and college student engagement on student retention and ultimately the persistence of students to graduation using the ELS:2002 survey data will provide her with a high quality and rigorous dissertation and may also provide important data to guide higher education institutions in Arkansas,” said T. Gregory Barrett, associate professor of higher education at UALR

Her participation in the ELS workshop will also assist in positioning her as a well-qualified member of a new cadre of institutional researchers who will provide more in-depth research, analysis, and evaluation to inform the P-16 policies and practices in the state of Arkansas.  Developing this cadre of institutional researchers is an integral component of the UALR Higher Education program’s mission.

For more information contact Barrett at (501) 569-3016 or tgbarrett@ualr.edu.