In this month’s Data Bite, we explore the clients of the IR Office. We categorized the number of clients served by the IR Office and found that 17% of IR Offices serve a limited number of institutional offices/units (fewer than 15) while 20% served a broad range of institutional offices/units (23 or more). Among those IR Offices with a limited number of clients, are there similarities? The answer is yes... and no.

We found that 99% of IR Offices with a limited number of clients serve senior leadership (President/CEO, Board of Trustees, and the Provost/Chief Academic Officer); 95% serve academic colleges/departments and the Faculty Senate; 95% serve student-facing offices like admissions, registrar, and student financial aid; and 90% serve other data-related units like assessment and information technology. That’s where the similarity ends. Likely depending on IR Office mission, some serve units like student affairs, athletics, and the library, while others don’t.

Is your IR Office focused on a limited number of clients? If so, does your client profile mirror these national results?