ORSP Lunch and Learn
LifeTracks: The State Longitudinal Data System for Mississippi
Speaker: Dr. Domenico Parisi
Time & Date: Wednesday, Dec. 12, Noon – 1:00 PM; Q&A/Discussion until 2:00 PM
Place: Butler Auditorium, in the Triplett Alumni Center, UM, Oxford Campus
Box lunches will be served starting 11:30 AM. At noon, Dr. Parisi will provide an overview and demonstration of LifeTracks, covering its origins, purpose, and capabilities; data to be collected from UM; and how UM researchers can access the system and data. An extended Q&A and discussion session will follow from 1 – 2 pm.
To Participate: RSVP to Susan Nicholas by 12/10: nicholas@olemiss.edu
About the Speaker and Guests: “Mimmo” Parisi is the director of nSPARC and a professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at MSU. Other guests will include: Michael Taquino, associate director at nSPARC and associate research professor at MSU; Steve Grice, associate director at nSPARC and associate research professor at MSU; Craig Orgeron, executive director of the MS Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) and the chief information officer for the State of Mississippi; and Jimmy Webster, director of strategic services for ITS.
About the State Longitudinal Data System: LifeTracks is a statewide project that began in 2009 with a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education to develop, implement, and expand a longitudinal data system to link information from pre-K through the workforce to create better information for decision making to improve student outcomes. It is designed to align the efforts of universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, and early childhood education in terms of academic standards and career expectations with the general intent of: (1) decreasing the number of high school dropouts; (2) increasing the number of high school students who graduate and enroll in and successfully complete a two- or four-year college degree; (3) increasing the number of students who successfully transfer from community colleges to universities; (4) increasing the number of four-year college graduates; (5) improving career-readiness at all levels of education; and (6) increasing the number of students who successfully gain employment.
About nSPARC: The National Strategic Planning & Analysis Research Center (nSPARC) at MSU promotes social and economic research and scholarship. nSPARC coordinates activities for data sharing and reporting across all educational institutions in Mississippi and acts as a project manager and system developer for the LifeTracks in Mississippi.
About ITS: The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services provides statewide leadership and services that facilitate cost-effective information processing and telecommunication solutions for agencies and institutions. ITS provides overall leadership and data center hosting for the LifeTracks project.