Course Description
Knowledge, skills, and competencies required to design, conduct, and interpret institutional studies in higher education.
Athena Title
INSTITUTIONAL RESCH
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The primary purposes of this course are to examine the role of institutional research in institutional management and institutional effectiveness and to develop an understanding of the skills, activities, concepts, and issues involved in carrying out the institutional research functions. The term "institutional research" applies to those activities that provide vital informational and analytical support for the planning, evaluation and decision making required for effective management and efficient institutional operation. Institutional research is concerned with the collection, analysis, interpretation and utilization of information. It is the primary source for organizational intelligence in support of decision making and improving institutional effectiveness. Knowledge of the purposes and functions of institutional research, of the conceptual designs and assumptions behind analytical and forecasting models, and of the capabilities and limitations of these functions and tools is vital to persons interested in functioning as institutional researchers, policy analysts or planners, as well as to persons interested in administrative offices or executive officer positions which are responsible for these offices or are dependent upon their data and analyses for governance and planning activities and decisions. Course Objectives: 1. To develop an understanding of the organizational and historical context of institutional research and its role in institutional decision making and management. 2. To develop and understand the relations and differences among planning, policy analysis, institutional effectiveness and institutional research. 3. To develop an understanding of the functions of institutional research and an acquaintance with the conceptual and methodological tools of institutional research. 4. To develop the skills to critique a college or university's organizational intelligence functions. 5. To identify and development an understanding of institutional issues and the institutional research efforts designed to resolve them.
Topical Outline
Institutional research is only a means to an end, not an end in itself. The results of IR directly support the basic institutional and program management functions of planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating. Institutional research consists of seven basic activities: collecting data; verifying data; organizing data; analyzing data; interpreting data; reporting data and, "professing". Supporting the IR activities are basic skills, tools and knowledge which help develop/direct/conduct the IR effort, including skills in: communications; computer applications; statistics; management; interpersonal relations; accounting, and, knowledge of the history, organization, administration and, finance of higher education as well as decision making/support; research methodology; research literature, institutional history, and, institutional research practice. Institutional research is primarily directed at answering questions: some of the questions have been asked before and can be identified; some of the questions have not been asked, although the category of the questions can still be identified; and some of the questions have not been asked and will arise form issues yet to be identified. Among the institutional issues about which questions have been asked and, about which future questions are most likely to be asked, are: mission/goals/objectives; institutional effectiveness; planning; admissions; enrollment; persistence; curriculum management; student characteristics; alumni; faculty; fiscal analysis; and facilities.