The state of higher education today is one of change and stasis. Economic vulnerability, globalization, technological innovation, and an increasingly competitive market underlie the need for change in higher education. At the same time, there are strong and stubborn forces at work supporting the status quo. Though daunting, institutions of higher…

In this age of accountability, transparency, and accreditation, colleges and universities increasingly conduct comparative analyses and engage in benchmarking activities. Meant to inform institutional planning and decision making, comparative analyses and benchmarking are employed to let stakeholders know how an institution stacks up against its…

Building on the main themes presented in this volume, explores their implications for institutional research. Their underlying premise is that institutional research could and should play a critical role in advancing the knowledge management paradigm. Looks at the advantages and challenges of knowledge management from an institutional research…

Defines knowledge management, its components, processes, and outcomes. Addresses the importance of knowledge management for higher education in general and for institutional research in particular. (EV)

Demands from state level agencies for greater accountability, less academic program duplication, and greater cost containment have pushed U.S. colleges toward greater seriousness, and more competence, in planning. A prominent factor in greater effectiveness in planning models is integrally relating planning, management, and evaluation. (MLW)

The need for information services offers institutional researchers with experience in systems design, data management, and analysis an opportunity to study the key issue involved in providing this service to the campus administrative community. The case of the University of Kansas is described. (Author/MLW)

The potential uses of futures techniques for institutional research and planning are examined. The important historical forces that have led to this point in the development of institutional research and planning are outlined, and the current status of futures research is discussed. (MLW)

Discusses why and how Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis created its electronic institutional portfolio. Describes the process and highlights missteps and insights. Focuses on how electronic institutional portfolios can become catalysts for change and institutional improvement, while also serving as multi-media self-studies for…

Describes how, compared to 1995 strategic planning, participation by Georgia State in the Urban Universities Portfolio Project enabled more informed, wider campus participation in shaping the plan. The portfolio also supported transitions to a semester calendar, new admissions practices, and revised approaches to program review and assessment of…

Reflects on how using the electronic medium for portfolio projects can influence institutional self-examination. By viewing the portfolio project as a continuation of a campus's commitment to approaching change as scholarly work, asserts that the electronic medium can lead to new ways of knowing and understanding higher education institutions. (EV)

Summarizes the lessons learned by the institutions participating in the Urban Universities Portfolio Project regarding the functional and technological requirements for creating and sustaining Web-based institutional portfolios. The most pressing issues were those of aligning technology resources with analytical, evaluative, academic, and design…

Describes lessons learned by California State University about developing electronic institutional portfolios, discussing how the campus made progress in strengthening program review and assessment processes and in building a campus "culture of evidence," trust, and engagement. (EV)

Discusses the implications for higher education nationally of the Urban Universities Portfolio Project (UUPP), placing the UUPP within a national agenda to focus attention on student learning, and examining how portfolio development worked from both the "inside out" and the "outside in" to renew this focus. (EV)

College and university information is poorly developed for the purpose of making strategic choices and management guidance. A strategic triangle, with critical success factors at each vertex, can help model appropriate information. (Author/MLW)

Characteristics of a decision support system (DSS) and factors that influence system design are described, along with a decision support database at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Reasons that the institutional research office is in a unique position to support decision-making are identified. A review of the literature of DSS briefly covers…