Institutional research
Encyclopedia
Institutional research is a broad category of work done at schools, colleges and universities to inform campus decision-making and planning in areas such as admissions, financial aid, curriculum, enrollment management, staffing, student life, finance, facilities, athletics, and alumni relations.
Institutional researchers collect, analyze, report, and warehouse quantitative and qualitative data about their institution's students, faculty, staff, curriculum, course offerings, and learning outcomes. They are involved in collecting and reporting information to government bodies (e.g., the United States Department of Education
's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
), to the public (e.g., Common Data Set
, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
's University-College Accountability Network), and various college guide publishers (e.g., U.S. News & World Report
and College Board
). On occasion, institutional researchers share data with one another to compare their own practices and outcomes against those of similar institutions. Organizations that facilitate this sort of cooperation include the Association of American Universities Data Exchange, the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Finally, institutional research is the source of much of the information provided to regional and national accreditation bodies to document how institutions fulfill the standards for accreditation.http://www.chea.org/public_info/index.asp
In addition to reporting, institutional researchers often engage in data analysis, ranging from simply testing whether differences in reported data are statistically significant to developing and using causal and predictive statistical models. Such models are often used in support of assessment and strategic enrollment management
.
More information about institutional research can be found at the Association for Institutional Research (AIR). There are also a number of regional and state associations of institutional researchers in the United States and around the world.http://www.airweb.org/?page=577 Links to sites related to institutional research are available from AIR.http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=309
, research methods (e.g., survey research
and focus groups), and computer-based reporting tools (e.g., SPSS
, SAS
, Microsoft Access
, Microsoft Excel
, and SQL
). Other important assets are strong written and oral communications skills, attention to detail, and knowledge about how institutions of higher education operate. Several American universities offer graduate certificate programs in institutional research, including Ball State University, Florida State University, Indiana University, University of Missouri, Penn State University, and San Diego State University.
Institutional researchers collect, analyze, report, and warehouse quantitative and qualitative data about their institution's students, faculty, staff, curriculum, course offerings, and learning outcomes. They are involved in collecting and reporting information to government bodies (e.g., the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, often abbreviated IPEDS, is the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics, a part of the Institute for Education Sciences within the United States Department of Education...
), to the public (e.g., Common Data Set
Common Data Set
The Common Data Set is a product of the Common Data Set Initiative, "a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report." The stated goal is to provide accurate and timely data to...
, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
Founded in 1976, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities is an organization of private US colleges and universities...
's University-College Accountability Network), and various college guide publishers (e.g., U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
and College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
). On occasion, institutional researchers share data with one another to compare their own practices and outcomes against those of similar institutions. Organizations that facilitate this sort of cooperation include the Association of American Universities Data Exchange, the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Finally, institutional research is the source of much of the information provided to regional and national accreditation bodies to document how institutions fulfill the standards for accreditation.http://www.chea.org/public_info/index.asp
In addition to reporting, institutional researchers often engage in data analysis, ranging from simply testing whether differences in reported data are statistically significant to developing and using causal and predictive statistical models. Such models are often used in support of assessment and strategic enrollment management
Strategic Enrollment Management
Strategic Enrollment Management [SEM] is a crucial element of planning for new growth at a University or College as it concerns both academic program growth and facilities needs. SEM focuses on what is best for students' success while increasing enrollment numbers and stabilizing institutional...
.
More information about institutional research can be found at the Association for Institutional Research (AIR). There are also a number of regional and state associations of institutional researchers in the United States and around the world.http://www.airweb.org/?page=577 Links to sites related to institutional research are available from AIR.http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=309
Becoming an Institutional Researcher
Due to the need to provide data to the federal government and other entities, nearly every post-secondary institution has offices that fulfill the institutional research function. At some colleges and universities this function is centralized in a single office of institutional research, while at others it is more de-centralized. There is no single academic degree that qualifies one to be an institutional researcher, but suggested strengths include a knowledge of statisticsStatistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, research methods (e.g., survey research
Survey research
Survey research a research method involving the use of questionnaires and/or statistical surveys to gather data about people and their thoughts and behaviours. This method was pioneered in the 1930s and 1940s by sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld. The initial use of the method was to examine the effects...
and focus groups), and computer-based reporting tools (e.g., SPSS
SPSS
SPSS is a computer program used for survey authoring and deployment , data mining , text analytics, statistical analysis, and collaboration and deployment ....
, SAS
SAS System
SAS is an integrated system of software products provided by SAS Institute Inc. that enables programmers to perform:* retrieval, management, and mining* report writing and graphics* statistical analysis...
, Microsoft Access
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of...
, Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
, and SQL
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
). Other important assets are strong written and oral communications skills, attention to detail, and knowledge about how institutions of higher education operate. Several American universities offer graduate certificate programs in institutional research, including Ball State University, Florida State University, Indiana University, University of Missouri, Penn State University, and San Diego State University.