This chapter outlines the varying threats that IR professionals face when securely storing and managing data, as well as the regulatory structure in place to control data management. Advice is offered on how best to structure and manage student data.

Over the past 20 years, many colleges and universities have made significant progress in building data warehouses and implementing business intelligence tools to provide better access to administrative data that were previously locked away in enterprise systems. However, the data architectures from the 1990s and 2000s are aging as new technologies…

This chapter provides examples of innovative methods and tools to collect, analyze, and report both quantitative and qualitative data in student affairs assessment.

This chapter describes the system office for community college institutional research (SOCCIR) for the State of Florida. The Division of Florida Colleges has a long history of providing reports that contain information on issues of interest to both the individual members of the system and the public. Fact books have been produced by the office for…

Modern organizations such as institutions of higher education characteristically include various administrative offices that gather and maintain records on employees and applicants for employment as part of their normal course of business. The objective of such record keeping is generally that of promoting efficient and effective management of an…

Marketing is an essential component of an effective enrollment management plan. The broad mission of a comprehensive community college requires multiple, targeted communications campaigns. Institutional research can contribute to marketing success at all phases of decision making.

Two case studies illustrate how institutional researchers have harnessed new information technologies to streamline office functions. At Illinois Institute of Technology, the World Wide Web supports an institutional information clearinghouse and database. At Willamette University (Oregon), an analytical database is coupled with Web technology,…

A comprehensive information resource management system is the key to the future of quality data management. Instituting and developing the system requires a major commitment from institutional leadership. The institutional researcher can take steps to solve some of the initial problems and increase institutional awareness for the systems'…

Identifies four trends in corporate information technology and applies them to the academic workplace and institutional research. Trends are (1) knowledge management, (2) enterprise resource planning, (3) data warehousing, and (4) electronic commerce. (Author/DB)

Addresses the dual impact of advancing information technology and increasing demands for institutional accountability, which have brought new challenges to college/university offices of institutional research. Offers a model of institutional research dissemination that is a compromise between internal reporting concerns and external accountability…

Discusses three emerging trends on the affect of information technology on institutional research (IR), examining the following: information technology as a catalyst for change; pressures of access and accountability and challenges of open access to information, and the new informational professional. Offers a vision of technology's…

Surveys and benchmarks continue to grow in importance for community colleges in response to several factors. One is the press for accountability, that is, for colleges to report the outcomes of their programs and services to demonstrate their quality and prudent use of resources, primarily to external constituents and governing boards at the state…

The community college environment is complex and dynamic, requiring constant monitoring. To ensure that workforce education, a core component of community colleges' missions, remains aligned with colleges' environments, responsive to employers' needs, suited to students' interests and abilities, and current in content and technology, it is…

Putting data-driven decision making into practice requires the use of consistent and reliable data that are easily accessible. The systematic collection and maintenance of accurate information is an important component in developing policy and evaluating outcomes. Since 1982, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been collecting…

This chapter highlights some important themes from the previous chapters in this volume that will assist institutional research professionals and other higher education leaders interested in expanding use of facilities data in planning and decision making: (1) What you don't know can hurt you; (2) Operational systems are not designed to support ad…