"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…

Issues in the evaluation of the college planning process are examined, and 13 questions to be addressed in assessing both strategic and operational planning functions are presented, including criteria for evaluating (1) the decisional aspect of planning, (2) planning data, and (3) the process. Evaluation methods are also discussed. (MSE)

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…

Measurement of the effectiveness and efficiency of college business affairs offices demands attention at all times and must deal with the institution's specific needs and considerations. Alternative approaches to data collection and interpretation are available, but all should focus on cost, confidentiality, user satisfaction, and service…

Given the importance and visibility of athletics programs, campus administrators have an obligation to both individual athletes and the campus community to sponsor ongoing evaluation of athletic program performance on and off the field in relation to the institution's educational mission. (MSE)

An evaluation of a counseling center must examine its goals, activities, and impact and determine the desired balance among preventive, remedial, and developmental objectives. (MSE)

Performance measures are discussed for assessing organizational effectiveness in nonprofit organizations including institutions of higher education. With hundreds of possible measures, ratios, and data available, the nonprofit manager must select measures that portray the institution's condition and performance. A process and rationale for…

A discussion of methods for measuring college faculty workload first reviews course load analysis, the traditional method used to define, measure, and report faculty workload, then suggests some data alternatives and related issues faced by institutional research offices. Suggestions are offered for locating existing workload data, compiling a…

It is proposed that a better understanding of campus climate may be a critical element in enhancing college and university diversity. Methodological issues associated with this form of institutional research are examined, and studies undertaken at Stanford University (California), the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of…

Provides models helpful to policymakers at state and institutional levels involved in academic program review and discontinuation, outlines levels of policy decisions for program discontinuation, and examines models that may be effective at each level. Concludes with program discontinuation-related recommendations. (Author/MSE)

A discussion of the need for and possible approaches to evaluating student support services emphasizes the importance of using objectives, strategies, and traditional and nontraditional outcome variables for a thorough assessment. (MSE)

Evaluation of campus computer services has been limited by the ability of higher education administrators to relate their experience in evaluating other, more traditional services to the technical complexity of computing services. The explosive growth of computer technologies requires development of a common framework for their evaluation. (MSE)

The University of Nebraska Lincoln has developed a process for nonacademic program review based on the criteria used for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This framework provides seven categories of specific criteria that can be applied in institutional self-study to determine the organization's ability to satisfy customers and remain…

The movement most likely to affect institutional research in the immediate future is implementation of outcomes assessment across the country. This represents a substantive and apparently permanent addition to the inventory of services provided to the higher education community by institutional research. (MSE)