Michael Urmeneta, Ed.D.
Director of Institutional Research · Manhattan University
Founder · The Urmeneta Group
AIR Forum Speaker · Published Author, AIR Professional File
AI in Practice
Professional Profile · May 2026

AI as a
thinking tool,
not a shortcut.

A practitioner-level account of how AI is integrated across institutional research, strategic leadership, and professional life — and where it's going next. For IR and higher education colleagues, prospective consulting partners, and the broader professional community.

Who I Am as an AI User

The Augmented Strategist

Core Profile

"I use AI to expand cognitive bandwidth and institutional influence — not to replace effort, but to amplify precision, depth, and scale of impact."

Most AI users optimize for speed. My orientation is different: I use AI for rigor. The goal is always sharper analysis, more honest modeling, clearer communication — not faster output at the expense of quality. That distinction shapes every application described here.

Strategic Integrator
AI is embedded into leadership decisions, institutional modeling, governance, and communication — not used ad hoc.
Systems Thinker
Every application connects to a larger question: enrollment health, financial sustainability, institutional culture, long-term impact.
Builder, Not Consumer
Scoring models. Data pipelines. Governance frameworks. Policy documents. AI is part of the construction process, not the end product.
Pragmatic Steward
Curious but not naive. Optimistic but ethics-aware. AI's risks are taken as seriously as its capabilities.
Full-Spectrum User
The same analytical discipline that structures institutional data analysis extends into every domain of professional and personal life.
Precision-Oriented
Language matters. Data integrity matters. AI outputs are scrutinized, corrected, and refined — not accepted at face value.

Professional & Personal Domains

Professional Domains
Core · Infrastructure
Proprietary AI Tool Ecosystem
14+ purpose-built skills designed, packaged, and maintained as installable tools — covering strategic analysis, writing production, research, document creation, and system maintenance. Runs on a personal operating system (Personal Operating System) built on Claude Cowork, with a structured folder architecture, self-improving review cycle, identity layer, and voice profile. Here is what it looks like in practice: every weekday morning, before the first meeting, a briefing is already waiting — pulling from three calendars, surfacing stalled projects by time horizon, and flagging one relevant IR or higher ed news item. It generated itself. Nobody triggered it. That is not a prompt library. It is a system that runs.
Core · Technical
Data Infrastructure & Pipelines
Python pipelines for graduating student survey analysis, National Student Clearinghouse transfer tracking, IPEDS integration, and retention modeling. Oracle/Banner SQL query design and schema mapping. 53,000+ admit records analyzed for competitor enrollment destinations. The most concrete example: the GSS 2026 dashboard — a 10-tab interactive HTML report built from Qualtrics export data covering both undergraduate and graduate graduating student surveys, with working filters, corrected methodology, and cabinet-level distribution across 16 versioned iterations. Not data analysis — a data product, built and shipped with AI as the primary development partner.
Core · Leadership
Executive Communication
Cabinet-level summaries, provost messaging, retention meeting framing, survey language precision. AI as editorial intelligence — tightening arguments, calibrating tone, maintaining consistency across high-stakes institutional communications.
Strategic
Enrollment & Financial Modeling
Enrollment scenario simulation. Merit aid equity modeling (a custom weighted scoring index built to evaluate merit award decisions against enrollment and equity outcomes). Bond rating analysis. Institutional peer benchmarking. FAFSA implications and financial aid strategy. AI used to pressure-test assumptions — not just retrieve information.
Strategic
Competitive Intelligence
Seven years of National Student Clearinghouse data analyzed to map where admitted students enroll when they choose a competitor. 97.6% IPEDS match rate across 1,395 destination institutions. 18-worksheet analytical reports supporting enrollment management strategy.
Operational
Compliance & Regulatory Reporting
IPEDS submissions, DAC Bond filings, U.S. News rankings coordination, NSF biographical sketches. AI as compliance partner — catching formatting errors, validating regulatory language, reducing turnaround time on high-stakes federal documentation.
Personal & Intellectual Domains
Personal · Cognitive
Productivity & Cognitive Architecture
Workflow structuring, mental load reduction, strategic planning frameworks, tool ecosystem evaluation. AI as a cognitive prosthetic that offloads structure so executive function can focus on judgment rather than organization.
Personal · Intellectual
Philosophy, Culture & Creative Inquiry
Ideological and rhetorical analysis. Classical aesthetics and Aristotelian frameworks applied to contemporary media and art. Theological and liturgical inquiry. Alternate history and scenario construction. This is where the analytical mind plays.
The same precision and analytical discipline that structures IPEDS compliance work extends into personal and intellectual domains — financial planning, family decisions, interior life, cultural analysis. That consistency is not incidental. It reflects a foundational belief that rigorous thinking is a practice, not a job function.

AI Maturity Assessment

Where I Stand

Level
Tier
Description
01
Casual User
Asks questions. Treats AI like an advanced search engine.
02
Power Prompter
Refines prompts. Uses AI for drafting, summaries, comparisons.
03
Workflow Integrator
Embeds AI into recurring work. Uses it for analysis and decision prep.
04
Strategic Architect
Designs systems where AI shapes institutional capability. Builds frameworks. Guides governance.
Primary
05
Institutional Transformer
Reshapes culture, infrastructure, and operating models around AI-enabled intelligence.
Pockets
Domain-by-Domain Breakdown
AI Tool Manufacturing & Personal Operating System 14+ skills built, packaged, debugged, maintained; full Cowork OS
Tier 5
Data Infrastructure & Pipeline Architecture Python/SQL ecosystems, National Student Clearinghouse + IPEDS integration
Tier 4
Executive Communication & Strategic Messaging Cabinet summaries, provost-level framing, survey language
Tier 4
Enrollment & Financial Scenario Modeling Custom merit aid scoring index, equity modeling, bond rating analysis
Tier 4
Automation & Agentic Workflows GSS 2026 dashboard (10-tab interactive HTML report, 16 versions); daily admissions briefing pipeline (Cowork + Power Automate); weekly competitive intelligence scan running on schedule
Tier 3→4
Institutional Knowledge Architecture Documents synthesized ad hoc; persistent queryable knowledge base next
Tier 3 → Building
Published Thought Leadership Pipeline AIR article live; book chapter (Analytics Revolution) in progress; cadence building
Tier 3→4

Near-Term & Horizon Goals

Achieved · 2026
Proprietary Skill Ecosystem Live
14+ installable skills designed, packaged, debugged, and maintained — covering strategic analysis, writing production, competitive intelligence, research, and system maintenance. The Personal Operating System is the operating environment they run on.
Achieved · 2026
First Agentic Pipeline Running
Admissions daily briefing (Cowork + Power Automate) is live — Cowork generates narrative anomaly analysis, Power Automate routes delivery. GSS 2026 dashboard built and distributed across 16 versions. Weekly competitive intelligence scan runs on schedule. The autonomous reporting model works.
Near-Term · 2026
IR Prompt Library for Recurring Deliverables
The skill ecosystem covers strategic tasks. The remaining gap: census briefs, retention memos, factsheets still start from scratch. 10 targeted IR prompts would standardize quality and cut prep time measurably.
Near-Term · 2026
Urmeneta Group AI Service Line
AI integration for small IR offices is underserved. The credentialing is live — Ed.D., AIR keynote, published article, book chapter in press. One focused service offering reactivates the consulting identity at exactly the right moment.
Horizon · 2027–28
Institutional Knowledge Architecture
"Ask Manhattan Intelligence" — a retrieval-augmented system over reports, memos, strategic plan documents, and prior analyses. Transformational for a small IR office that currently carries institutional memory in one person's head.
Horizon · 2027–29
"AI for Small IR Offices" — Published Framework
A book, white paper, or AIR monograph that makes the approach replicable. The keynote becomes a chapter. The pipeline work becomes the case study. The governance writing becomes the ethical foundation. The platform becomes the product.

Two Tracks, One Through-Line

Track A
Institutional Deepening at Manhattan
2026 ✓
IR Office as Intelligence Engine — Underway
Personal Operating System operating. 14+ skills installed. Admissions briefing pipeline live. GSS 2026 dashboard shipped. Weekly competitive intelligence scan running. Team upskilling next.
2027
Institutional Knowledge Architecture
Manhattan Intelligence prototype. AI-queryable archive of reports and strategic data. Cabinet begins to rely on it directly for decision support.
2028
Predictive Enrollment Engine
Probabilistic modeling embedded in the enrollment management cycle. IR moves from a reporting function to a strategic intelligence function.
2029–30
Senior Strategic Leadership Role
VP or AVP level, with IR merged into strategic planning or enrollment management. Or — the platform has grown enough to make the pivot primary.
Track B
External Platform & The Urmeneta Group
2026 ✓
Platform Credentialing — Live
Book chapter (Analytics Revolution) in active development. AIR article published. AIHEC keynote July 2026. The materials exist — the service offering needs packaging.
2027
Published Framework
"AI for Small IR Offices" — the keynote becomes a chapter, the pipeline work becomes the case study, the AIR article becomes the foundation.
2028
AIR Workshop Series
Annual or semi-annual training. Recurring visibility and revenue. The practical alternative to expensive enterprise AI consulting for higher ed.
2029–30
Platform as Primary Identity
Urmeneta Group as the primary professional vehicle. The institutional role as the laboratory that continues to feed the platform and the thinking.
Let's Connect

If this resonates, I want to hear from you.

Whether you're an IR colleague thinking through AI adoption, a higher ed leader looking for a strategic sounding board, or a potential consulting partner — the conversation starts the same way: honestly and precisely.

Contact & Resources
Institution
Director of Institutional Research
Manhattan University, Bronx NY

Consulting
The Urmeneta Group
AI Integration · IR Strategy · Higher Ed Analytics


Professional Home
Association for Institutional Research (AIR)
AIR Forum Speaker · Data Literacy Institute Instructor