The Statement of Aspirational Practice for Institutional Research calls for intentional building and support of the institutional research function—the collection of data users and producers across an institution (download paper here). One unit that uses and produces data is the Student Financial Aid office.

In the National Survey of IR Offices, participants were asked a series of questions regarding student financial aid. Regardless of sector, we find that:

1. Most IR and Student Financial Aid Offices work together;

2. Most IR Offices can access Student Financial Aid data (unrestricted access or are granted access)

3. And, most IR Offices are not involved in student financial aid modeling

Do these results hold true for your institution?