New Directions for Institutional Research is a quarterly sourcebook published by Jossey-Bass under the sponsorship and policies of AIR.  Each issue focuses on a specific topic relating to institutional research, planning, or higher education management.  Individuals interested in becoming a volume editor should contact Editor-in-Chief Paul Umbach (paul_umbach@ncsu.edu). 

Published: May 18, 2012

The next volume in the series (currently at press), entitled Data Use in the Community College, was edited by Christopher Mullin, Trudy Bers, and Linda Hagedorn.  This volume provides an enhanced perspective of programs community colleges offer with a focus on how institutions are accessing, collecting, and using data to improve student success -- and more generally on overall institutional effectiveness.  Chapters focus on collecting and using data to inform institutional decisions that affect program development and effectiveness, and examine how colleges can collect and use data to inform internal and external audiences about the services they provide and the outcomes and opportunities provided by the colleges. The issue closes with observations about institutional research in community colleges raised by previous chapters and the experiences of the issue editors. A list of the chapters and authors is below.

  1. Using Labor Market Information in Program Development and Evaluation, by Anna M. Lebesch

  2. Data Drives Success: Defining a Metric for Developmental Studies, by Anita Polk-Conley and John Squires

  3. GED and Other Non-credit Courses:  The Other Side of the Community College, by Andrew J. Ryder and Linda Serra Hagedorn

  4. Surveys and Benchmarks, by Trudy Bers*

  5. Using Data to Optimize Community College Marketing, by Craig A. Clagett*

  6. Improving Consumer Information for Higher Education Planning, by M. Craig Herndon

  7. Understanding the Workforce Outcomes of Education, by Christopher M. Mullin*

  8. Final Words, by Trudy Bers*

*Denotes AIR member

 
February 2012 

The most recent volume in the series, entitled Attracting and Retaining Women in STEM, was edited by Joy Gaston Gayles. This volume takes a comprehensive look at attracting and retaining women in STEM at various levels of the profession—from early interest and preparation in math and science at the K-12 level, to studying STEM at undergraduate and graduate levels, and toward establishing a professional career in STEM. Further, the chapters within this volume raise important questions about the future of STEM education relative to stimulating interest, increasing persistence and degree completion, and designing studies to examine the experience of women in STEM. Each chapter, listed below, concludes with recommendations for institutional research, policy, and practice. 

 

  1. Major Selection and Persistence for Women in STEM by Casey A. Shapiro and Linda J. Sax

  2. Gender Matters: An Examination of Differential Effects of the College Experience on Degree Attainment in STEM by Joy Gaston Gayles and Frim D. Ampaw

  3. Living-Learning Programs for Women in Science by Karen K. Inkelas

  4. The Role of Community Colleges in Educating Women in Science and Engineering by Dimtra L. Jackson and Frankie Santos Laanan

  5. The Post-Baccalaureate Goals of College Women in STEM by Darnell Cole and Araceli Espinoza

  6. Understanding the Factors Affecting Degree Completion of Doctoral Women in the Science and Engineering Fields by Frim Ampaw and Audrey Jaeger

  7. Women of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) by Dawn R. Johnson

  8. New Tools for Examining Undergraduate Students’ STEM Stereotypes: Implications for Women and Other Underrepresented Groups by Sylvia Nassar-McMillan, Mary Wyer, Maria Oliver-Hoyo and Jennifer Schneider

Individuals interested in becoming a volume editor should contact Editor-in-Chief Paul Umbach (paul_umbach@ncsu.edu).

January 2012

  1. “Student Typologies in Higher Education,” by Shouping Hu, Lindsey Katherine and George D. Kuh

  2. “Students’ Involvement in Group Experiences and Connections to Leadership Development,” by John P. Dugan

  3. “A Typology of Students’ Use of the Community College,” by Peter Riley Bahr

  4. “A Developmental Typology of Faculty-Student Interaction Outside of the Classroom,” by Bradley E. Cox

  5. “The Use of Cluster Analysis in Typological Research on Community College Students,” by Peter Riley Bahr, Rob Bielby and Emily House

  6. “Typological Research on College Students for Better Outcomes,” by Shouping Hu and Shaoqing Li

Individuals interested in becoming a volume editor should contact Editor-in-Chief Paul Umbach.