Quality measurement is essential in every form of research, including institutional research and assessment. This paper addresses the erroneous assumptions institutional researchers often make with regard to survey research and provides an alternative method to producing more valid and reliable measures. Rasch measurement models are discussed and…

As Institutional Research (IR) moves beyond its fiftieth anniversary, a new profession, called Institutional Effectiveness (IE), is emerging. In some respects, IR and IE are similar. IE, though, appears to be taking the leadership role. What are the structure, purpose, and responsibilities of IE offices? What are the implications for the IR field…

Institutional performance benchmarking requires identifying a set of reference or comparator institutions. This paper describes a method by which an institution can identify other institutions that are most similar to itself using a methodology that identifies the nearest institutional neighbors based on a balanced set of metrics accessed from…

In an age in which information and data are more readily available than ever, it is critical for higher education institutions to develop tools that can communicate essential information to those who make decisions in an easy-to-understand format. One of the tools available for this purpose is a dashboard, a one- to two-page document that presents…

The framework for understanding the management difference is neatly captured by the "red ocean" and "blue ocean" strategies described by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in "Blue Ocean Strategy" (Kim & Mauborgne, 2004). In the original, the terms refer to alternative market strategies. Red ocean means competition in a market defined by a zero sum…

Data mining provides both systematic and systemic ways to detect patterns of student engagement among students at hundreds of institutions. Using traditional statistical techniques alone, the task would be significantly difficult--if not impossible--considering the size and complexity in both data and analytical approaches necessary for this…

This study sought to understand and improve effectiveness in institutional research (IR) by interviewing, observing, and analyzing resumes of IR practitioners who have been identified by their colleagues as particularly effective in having an impact on decision-making, planning, and policy formation. Ten themes for effectiveness in IR were…

As students are asked to share more of the costs of a post-secondary education, the quality of their overall educational experience and perceived return on investment (ROI) are increasingly important. For prospective students and their parents, what they are told they can expect from the student experience at an institution often makes the most…

Compared to traditional classification methods, developing a peer group using the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) data allows institutions to add comparative dimensions, to update the peer group, and to track changes at peer institutions over time. Peer selection and…

This study uses a regression model to determine if a significant difference exists between the actual budget allocation that an academic department received and the model's predicted budget allocation for that same department. Budget data from a Southeastern Master's/Comprehensive state university were used as the dependent variable, and the…

A prime role of institutional research is to contextualize institutional or survey data in a clear, accurate, concise, and compelling fashion. The purpose of this paper is to delineate the strategy used by a comprehensive Canadian community college to improve the analysis and reporting of student satisfaction surveys. Although data-rich with many…

One of the most valued approaches to identify course prerequisites relies on statistical techniques, typically requiring institutional-research support. Yet these techniques are often inadequate for prerequisite identification purposes. A discussion of the reasons for the inappropriateness of these techniques is presented. A review of common…

The Office of Planning and Institutional Research (OPAIR), at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus was asked to undertake an analysis of student throughput rates as part of a University-wide initiative involving the three campuses. Each Campus was provided with a template and guidelines for reporting the data. The exercise was intended…

Institutional research is the sum total of all activities directed at describing the full spectrum of functions (educational, administrative, and support) occurring within a college or university. Institutional research activities examine those functions in their broadest definitions, and embrace data collection and analytical strategies in…

Geographic analysis has been adopted by businesses, especially the retail sector, since the early 1990s (Thrall, 2002). Institutional research can receive the same benefits businesses have by adopting geographic analysis and technology. The commonalities between businesses and higher education institutions include the existence of trade areas, the…