Sean Baser joined SHEEO as a senior policy analyst in October 2023. In this role, Baser provides support on a variety of projects and initiatives, including efforts to improve noncredit postsecondary education opportunities and state authorization, as well as the development and analysis of SHEEO’s Membership Report and Strong Foundations survey of postsecondary data systems. He also assists with membership outreach and event planning for state, regional, and national meetings. Baser’s research interests lie at the nexus of education politics, policy, and governance. His recent work has focused on state authorization, interest groups, dual enrollment, community college governance, state-level changes to tenure policies, and the role of political nonprofits and “dark money” in education.

Prior to joining SHEEO, Baser served as a graduate research assistant and research associate with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. In this role, he provided quantitative and qualitative expertise by collecting and reporting data, conducting advanced statistical analysis, synthesizing academic literature and policy trends, and developing visualizations and dashboards to improve decision-making on a wide range of higher education topics (namely, strategic enrollment management).

Baser earned an associate degree in business administration from Tulsa Community College in 2014, dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and management information systems from Oklahoma State University in 2015, and a master’s in education in higher education from the University of Houston in 2016. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia.