A new vision for institutional research is urgently needed if colleges and universities are to achieve their institutional missions, goals, and purposes. The authors advocate for a move away from the traditional service model of institutional research to an institutional research function via a federated network model or matrix network model. When…

Vice chancellors of public universities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region face a myriad of challenges that require research- and data-driven decision-making. This paper presents a decision-making model for college and university leadership - The Two-Way Practitioner-Researcher Loop. This scholarship of practice has the…

This article describes how public engagement was incorporated into a research university's current Academic Plan, how the public engagement metrics were selected and adopted, and how those processes led to subsequent strategic planning. Some recognition of the importance of civic engagement has followed, although there are many areas in which…

Institutional research that examines the influence of organizational and administrative factors on student learning may be critical in improving educational performance. The role that institutional researchers might play in reducing semantic confusion and enhancing understanding of how colleges and universities improve student learning is…

The office of institutional research can play a key role in creating a college's marketing plan. Designing survey instruments and evaluations to support new program development, employer-based education, and recruiting concepts are areas where institutional research can make important contributions (Author/MLW)

The use of contingency tables in creating a statistical profile of a college student population is explained. The method provides simultaneous cross-indexed frequency distribution of two database fields. Common uses are discussed, and application is illustrated in a hypothetical student retention study. Extensions for nonnumerical fields and…

Information about students' characteristics and their perceptions of their educational experience allow institutions to predict their risk of attrition. Trenton State College's effective use of the American Council on Education Cooperative Institutional Research Program for planning and assessment is described. (MLW)

The agenda for institutional research as it supports the enrollment management function is discussed in terms of two divisions: student recruitment and retention. Stages in the college selection process are also described: inquiry, application, enrollment decision. (MLW)

Using discriminant analysis, a study examined (1) the extent to which the new Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ) accurately predicts student departure for a private, comprehensive university (n=1,978 students); (2) SACQ items distinguishing nonpersisters; (3) use with an incoming class; and (4) evidence linking the SACQ with…

This bibliography, the third in a series, is arranged according to the following categories: (1) goals and longrange planning; (2) administration and faculty; (3) curriculum and instruction; (4) space utilization and scheduling; (5) characteristics of entering students; (6) general student characteristics; (7) recruitment and admissions; (8)…

The use of outcomes research as a marketing tool for postsecondary educational institutions is discussed. Few such institutions integrate outcomes information into the institutional marketing program. In most cases this type of information is used to document actual outcomes, but rarely is it used as an indicator of needed change or success of the…

A study tested a model for assessing the impact of financial aid offers on 2,558 accepted students' college enrollment decisions. The analysis demonstrates that financial aid strategies have a substantial influence on enrollment and the systematic analysis of student enrollment decisions can help institutional administrators refine their financing…

The history of higher education's concern with student conduct is reviewed, and three specific issues in student discipline are examined: why colleges regulate student conduct; why students violate published regulations; and the appropriate institutional response to student misconduct. A need is seen for more institutional and educational research…

Papers include: the role of institutional research in the managerial revolution in higher education (W. Hugh Stickler); student studies in the institutional research program (W. Hugh Stickler); needed research studies in college admissions (Cameron Fincher); an introduction to budgetary analysis (James L. Miller); future enrollments and planning…

Approaches to college student monitoring have been shaped by changing contexts and evolving technical capabilities, beginning with retention studies and developing into fully relational databases for cohort tracking. Institutional researchers should know this history and be aware of the specific demands for information that future tracking systems…