Evidence-based decision-making requires access to good and reliable data. In recent years, there has been a tremendous increase of data available to institutions, from internal as well as external sources. With this increase in data and its analytics, new challenges and questions arise. One of the most pertinent of which is the ethics and best…

This chapter describes the background and process for collecting postgraduation outcomes data at a 4-year not-for-profit private college. The strategies, analyses, and reporting of this data-collection effort are highlighted with the use of a case study.

Institutional researchers are responsible for the collection, organization, analysis, and maintenance of large amounts of personally identifiable data on students, faculty, and staff. Not only are institutional research (IR) offices required to report these data to state and federal agencies, they are also responsible for providing information to…

Presents an approach increasingly employed by businesses to track and respond to their customers to provide better and faster services: customer relationship management. Discusses its applicability to the operations of higher education and institutional research and the role it plays in the knowledge management framework. (EV)

The effective communication of desired information between the generator and the user requires one to accommodate variances in decision-making style, behavior, and context. The premise that decision making in organizations follows the classic rational model is discussed. (Author/MLW)

Successful implementation of assessment requires effective administrative leadership to get started, convert data to information, and use the information in making improvements. Assessment may pay its greatest long-term dividends as an organizational device for directing scarce reserves of institutional attention to teaching and learning. (MLW)

A statewide performance funding initiative provided a strong incentive to examine student outcomes. The result has been a systematic program of data collection and dissemination that has significantly affected both the curriculum and the university's budgeting process. (Author/MSE)