Association for Institutional Research
Enhancing Knowledge. Expanding Networks.
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Primer for Institutional Research Edited by William E. Knight Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 - Institutional Research Support of Accountability Author: John A. Muffo Introduction Chapter 2 - Assessment for Institutional Research: Guidelines and Resources Author: Karen W. Bauer Introduction Chapter 3 - Describing Faculty Activity and Productivity for Multiple Audiences Authors: Michael F. Middaugh and Healther Kelly Isaacs Introduction Chapter 4 - Faculty Salary Analyses Authors: Gerald W. McLaughlin and Richard D. Howard Introduction Chapter 5 - Enrollment Management Authors: Richard J. Kroc and Gary Hanson Introduction Chapter 6 - Peer Institutions Authors: Deborah J. Teeter and Paul T. Brinkman Introduction Chapter 7 - Using the Web for Institutional Research Author: Tod R. Massa Introduction Chapter 8 - Using National Datasets for Postsecondary Education Research Author: John H. Milam Introduction Chapter 9 - Records Management Authors: Andrew L. Luna and Tara P. Pearson Introduction Conclusion William E. Knight Despite the maturation of the profession, the question, What is institutional research?, seems to be perpetual. While many of us have attempted to provide answers to family, friends and colleagues, the responses we often get suggest that our answers are somewhat lacking: “Just as long as you’re happy, dear, and the work is steady.” “I’ve worked here for 25 years and had no idea anyone did this kind of work.” and “I can’t believe they really pay you for doing that!” Some of the more meaningful definitions have included: “research conducted within an institution of higher education in order to provide information which supports planning, policy formation, and decision making” (Saupe, 1981, p. 1); an activity having “ . . . to do with what decision makers need to know about an institution, its educational objectives, goals and purposes, environmental factors, processes, and structures to more widely use its resources, more successfully attain its objectives and goals, and to demonstrate integrity and accountability in so doing” (Dressell, 1981, p. 237); and “a critical intermediary function that links the educational, managerial, and information functions of higher education institutions and functions” (Peterson, 1985, p. 5). Terenzini (1993) built upon the idea of institutional research as a form of “organizational intelligence” that requires three types of personal competence and institutional understanding for successful practice. He suggested ways in which each of the three types of knowledge and skills can be gained. Given diversity in both the levels of professional knowledge and skills held by institutional researchers and, the ways in which they have been acquired (Knight, Moore, and Coperthwaite, 1997), it is incumbent upon the leaders of the profession to provide a variety of professional development opportunities to both new and experienced practitioners. A Primer on Institutional Research (1987), The Primer for Institutional Research (1992), and Strategies for the Practice of Institutional Research: Concepts, Resources, and Applications (1994) are three publications from the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) designed to provide an introduction to some of the more common institutional research issues, methods, and resources for newcomers and to provide a means for veterans to update their capabilities. Those volumes, and this update, serve as just some of the many professional development resources available to institutional researchers; several other resources will be highlighted in the concluding chapter. The purpose of this volume is to update and expand upon these previous works. I was very fortunate to be able to assemble a group of highly talented authors, whose efforts represent a significant contribution to the profession. John Muffo opens the book with a chapter on institutional research support for college and university accountability, including focus upon institutional accreditation; disciplinary accreditation; new program approval; internal program review; data reporting to federal, state, commercial, and inter-institutional agencies; special studies; and state-mandated assessment activities and performance studies. Institutional research support for assessment is always an important topic. Karen Bauer discusses definitions, principles, and purposes of assessment as well as levels and key steps in assessment projects; she ends by showcasing examples of assessment measures for researchers. Michael Middaugh and Heather Kelly Isaacs focus on faculty activity and productivity. Their chapter highlights the conditions in American higher education that mandate the development of instructional productivity and cost measures on campus, provides a discussion of framing the appropriate language for describing faculty duties and responsibilities, and focuses on the need for providing practical management information for decision support. Rich Howard and Gerald McLaughlin highlight the analytical and political issues involved in faculty salary analysis. Their work includes important background issues for consideration, a conceptual model for faculty salary analysis, recent developments in faculty salary analysis and points to consider, and a series of steps that institutional researchers should use when asked to carry out faculty salary analyses. In their discussion of enrollment management, Rick Kroc and Gary Hanson provide an overview of student recruitment, including the educational pipeline, enrollment projections, and financial aid; student flow, including academic preparation, the curriculum, academic and student support programs, graduation and retention rates, and issues beyond graduation, and support for enrollment management; including organizational structures, necessary IR technical and analytical skills, data sources, and communicating results of enrollment management studies. They conclude with a consideration of the future of enrollment management. In their chapter on peer institutions, Deb Teeter and Paul Brinkman highlight selecting peer institutions and conducting inter-institutional data exchanges; they focus on both the political and technical issues of choosing peers, as well as issues involved with acquiring and working with peer data. Tod Massa’s chapter on using the Web for institutional research represents an important addition to this Primer that will be beneficial to veterans, as well as new, institutional research practitioners. Tod focuses upon the Web as an organic medium, connective sense-making, applying the Web to the IR life-cycle, and concludes with a look to the future. John Milam’s chapter on using national datasets for postsecondary education research is a valuable resource for today’s institutional researchers; his work focuses on using different lenses for finding data, understanding major data collections, getting access to datasets, and emerging trends in data collection. Andrew Luna and Tara Pearson inform institutional researchers about the importance of records management and describe how to create an effective records management program within an IR office. Finally, I provide a concluding chapter on additional professional development opportunities for institutional researchers. |