Higher education is ripe for innovation. While emerging technological developments such as digital courseware and mobiles apps have made it easier than ever for people to engage with learning resources, significant issues of access and equity persist among students from low-income, minority, single-parent families, and other disadvantaged groups.…

As the author's contribution to a series marking the Golden Jubilee of the Association of University Administrators, he reflects on changes in quality assurance over the past twenty years and speculates on what the future may hold for quality as the association moves into a new and very different competitive regime. He begins by discussing the…

Most decisions are made not by individuals but by groups. Knowing how the group process works and how information enters it can improve the quality of decisions, and can enhance the institutional researcher's role as data supplier and lead methodologist. (Author/MSE)

The diverse ways in which two-year colleges use and present data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers' annual study of comparative financial statistics are described and illustrated. (MSE)

Information use can be defined in many ways depending on a variety of organizational, personal, and presentational factors. The experience of evaluation researchers provides some guides for practice. (Author/MSE)

Written reports still constitute the primary means of communicating institutional research findings. They may have a variety of formats, but should always rest on a well-documented research process. (Author/MSE)

New technologies have increased the speed with which research results can be disseminated and enable new forms of iterative problem solving, but must be used deliberately and with care. (Author/MSE)

To be useful for management decision making, the college or university's cost accounting system must capture and measure improvements. Activity-based costing (ABC), which determines more accurately the full costs of services and products, tracks improvements and should proceed alongside reengineering of institutional accounting. Guidelines are…

The importance of evaluation for institutional development is discussed from the perspective of the manager. It is suggested that the higher education manager can use evaluation to obtain feedback about program effort, performance, and effects that will aid in the decision-making process. (Author/SF)

The danger of using student performance as a basis for budgeting and program accountability is that it promises accountability through simple measurement of complex realities, with qualitative measures overwhelming less precise qualitative measures. (MSE)

Good feedback from a consultant is evidence-based insight into the good, bad, and indifferent aspects of the work being done. The college administrator needs to prepare for hearing and acting on it. Receiving feedback is difficult, but handling it well is critical to the ultimate effectiveness of change. (Author/MSE)

Many operational and some tactical information needs can be well supported with current information technology and campus-based data, but information support for many tactical and most strategic decisions may be aided by interinstitutional collaboration. (Author/MSE)

Discusses issues in institution-wide information networking, focusing on two major forces in research and education institutions: the network as an information and technology platform, and as organizational structure. Looks at how the organization uses information and coordinates activities and allocates resources so information use creates value…

The development of institutional performance indicators in higher education is viewed as part of a broader approach to management information and decision making. The experience of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems in developing useful information from raw data, selecting appropriate performance indicators, and applying…

Use of student focus groups to help shape college and university student recruitment efforts is examined, illustrated with the experiences of a variety of institutions. Benefits and limitations of the approach are noted, specific techniques for maximizing the groups' effectiveness are suggested, and uses of the resulting information are discussed.…