"Building Institutional Capacity for Data-Informed Decision Making" is the third installment of the Cutting Edge series, which aims to help colleges engage faculty, scale successful interventions, and create a strong culture of evidence through use of data to strengthen their institutional change and student success efforts. Though the…

Achieving the Dream colleges engage in a process of institutional improvement to increase student success. A central component of this process is engaging internal and external stakeholders to help develop and implement interventions or changes in programs and services that improve student success. To determine whether these interventions do…

This handbook contains eight sections and thirty-four short chapters on topics related to being a member of a California community college governing board. The eight sections are: (1) California Community Colleges; (2) The Governing Board; (3) Toward An Effective Board; (4) Policy, Planning and Monitoring; (5) The Board and the CEO; (6)…

This handbook contains eight sections and thirty-five short chapters on topics related to being a member of a California community college governing board. The eight sections are: (1) California Community Colleges; (2) The Governing Board; (3) Toward An Effective Board; (4) Policy, Planning and Monitoring; (5) The Board and the CEO; (6)…

Illustrates how proprietary schools and community colleges have used market research techniques to identify marketing problems, determine student characteristics, measure market penetration, understand market position vis-a-vis the competition, and assess applicants' perceptions. (AYC)

The portfolio approach to evaluation can be a useful method of screening and comparing educational programs in terms of their productivity and potential. In the field of investments, portfolio analysis consists of identifying the relative strengths of assets in terms of the dimensions of return and potential for growth. College programs can be…

One promising avenue for increasing the utilization of institutional research data is the informal action research model. While formal action research stresses the involvement of researchers throughout the decision-making process, the informal model stresses participation in the later stages of decision making. Informal action research requires…

Designed for use by community college personnel, this handbook provides information necessary to conduct a study of the impact of a community college on the business volume and other economic aspects of the community. Section I explains models for assessing the following seven types of economic impact: (1) college-related local business volume;…

One of a series of papers resulting from a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) project to improve evaluation and planning in community colleges, this report provides information and guidance for conducting large-group, strategic planning in a community college. The report begins with general comments on planning, focusing…

A 1983-84 marketing plan is presented for Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), which is designed to maximize the effective use of shrinking resources to meet the needs of the college's clientele. After introductory material discusses the problems and challenges facing NVCC and the role of marketing in understanding the environment in which…

This packet identifies and explains the questionnaires and coding used in DeVault VIII, a subsystem of the Texas Student Information System designed to generate data for local utilization and for fulfillment of the federally-mandated Vocational Education Data System (VEDS) student and employer follow-up requirements. The report first explains the…

Describes the experiences of Cabrillo College (California) in constructing a personal computer-based student tracking system. Addresses data collection and such obstacles as access to the mainframe, limited/erroneous/inconsistent data, lack of information on within-semester persistence, and understated graduation rates. Reviews benefits. (DMM)

This document describes a two-step process that Austin Community College (ACC) (Texas) used to develop its 1999-2004 strategic guidelines. The first step involved guiding college task forces, programs, support areas, and committees through the process of reviewing college-wide strategic priorities; identifying those priorities to which each area…

Suggests steps in planning and managing student tracking systems: build support, determine the system's purpose, inventory available student data, identify information gaps, consider a small prototype, make tracking ongoing, and use the system. Reviews potential problems during implementation. Cites further sources of information. (DMM)

Developed to help colleges enhance the effectiveness of their institutional research efforts, this workbook provides strategies for increasing effectiveness and examples of techniques and research from Maryland's Prince George's Community College (PGCC). First, an introduction summarizes the changing responsibilities of institutional research and…