A participatory framework in conducting research and implementing decisions can engage multiple constituents throughout a college community. At a small college, it is especially relevant, because nonmajority groups are especially vulnerable because of a smaller critical mass.

This chapter describes a process for assessing programmatic initiatives with broad-ranging goals with the use of a mixed-methods design. Using an example of a day-long teaching development conference, this chapter provides practitioners step-by-step guidance on how to implement this assessment process.

This chapter describes a framework to guide collaboration between institutional research and other campus offices. Three examples are then provided to illustrate how the framework was applied successfully to actual projects.

This chapter will examine characteristics of first-year experience programs in community colleges, with specific attention to the extant research about their effectiveness, the ways in which research and program delivery can be integrated, and the unique challenges of delivering FYE programs and conducting research about them in community colleges.

This chapter describes how data analysis and data-driven decision making were critical for designing, developing, and assessing a new academic program. The authors--one, the program's founder; the other, an alumna--begin by highlighting some of the elements in the program's incubation and, subsequently, describe some of the components for data…

The system office for community college institutional research (SOCCIR) plays a role in the drama of higher education that states must orchestrate to help community college systems operate effectively and efficiently over the long term. But how exactly does the SOCCIR enable a state to accomplish what the separate institutional research (IR)…

There is almost nothing more frustrating to an institutional researcher than seeing university leaders ignore data. The case study in this article examines how an institutional research office was able to put data to work in enrollment services and produce record-setting numbers of applications, admissions, and confirmations within a nine-month…

Review of literature concerning the use of program review in higher education lists sources discussing the review process, focusing on the links between program review and other institutional processes, and addressing application of program review principles and practices to different higher education settings. Critical factors for successful use…

In both purpose and practice, general education in American higher education has experienced several recurring debates and national revivals. In a world with constantly evolving technology, students need a strong general education to be flexible and adaptable to the changes of the world. General education is an important component and requirement…

This paper describes how various formal planning approaches were developed and applied at Pennsylvania State University. Phases (horizontal reduction, vertical reallocation, strategic planning, and strategic management) are identified as are principles including planning for change on the margins and continuity, providing for feedback, and…

A program focusing on recruitment of new freshmen at the University of Colorado at Boulder illustrates some major planning considerations in the development, implementation, and evaluation of a marketing plan. (MSE)

Academic leaders and governing boards are increasingly aware of the importance and difficulty in managing physical plants as finite resources. In addition, the finances needed to renovate or build facilities have become severely constrained. The National Science Foundation (2000), in its survey of research facilities, suggests that research space…

A new strategic plan, an additional one hundred faculty members, a new financial model, an incentive compensation plan, a new $200 million research building, closing one professional school and repositioning assets to help another, redirecting net revenues from two parking garages, and a building renewal and replacement plan-all are outcomes of a…

A study of program review at 156 community colleges shows that it is widely used for accountability and program improvement; that substantial use is made of results; and that key leadership support, organizational communication, a clear understanding of purposes, and frequent action on program review recommendations at all organizational levels…

Some organizations are having difficulty with the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. Problems appear to come from reliance on prepackaged TQM programs, large-scale, diffuse implementation, mass training programs, measurement paralysis, overemphasis on tools, process selection, outmoded reward structures, and simplistic views of change and…