A new vision for institutional research is urgently needed if colleges and universities are to achieve their institutional missions, goals, and purposes. The authors advocate for a move away from the traditional service model of institutional research to an institutional research function via a federated network model or matrix network model. When…

Data-driven decision making, popularized in the 1980s and 1990s, is evolving into a vastly more sophisticated concept known as big data that relies on software approaches generally referred to as analytics. Big data and analytics for instructional applications are in their infancy and will take a few years to mature, although their presence is…

The authors describe the University of Central Florida's top-down/bottom-up action analytics approach to using data to inform decision-making at the University of Central Florida. The top-down approach utilizes information about programs, modalities, and college implementation of Web initiatives. The bottom-up approach continuously monitors…

An interview with John F. Rockart focuses on the use of information technology in executive decision support systems, how such systems differ from conventional management information systems, and their application on college campuses. (MSE)

College and university information is poorly developed for the purpose of making strategic choices and management guidance. A strategic triangle, with critical success factors at each vertex, can help model appropriate information. (Author/MLW)

The University of Southern California has implemented a decentralized management philosophy. Implementation of this approach to management is facilitated by making accurate management information available to decision-makers in their offices in real time. (MLW)

The key to the success of decision support systems will be the way that institutional researchers integrate the variety of specific and personal systems into a viable and coordinated institutionwide system. (Author/MLW)

A method for scheduling teaching assignments is described that can asssist in projecting future course offering needs, assess the impact of consolidating or rescheduling sections, determine the necessary interests and qualifications of faculty additions, and predict the impact of a faculty member's absence. (MSE)

The perceived success of EDUCOM's Financial Planning Model (EFPM) and the relationship between success and organizational services--the integrator functions--that support EFPM's use are examined. The study finds that the integrator functions are significantly related to success. (Author/MLW)

This study examines the impact of a new Decision-Support System (DSS) on decision making in a community college in California. It looks at how attitudes and behaviors about data and their use were impacted by the implementation of a new DSS. The study found that the decentralization of data, through the DSS, produced a shift in terms of an…

Computer technology is rapidly being integrated into decision support systems that far surpass the potential of other information systems. To take advantage of this potential, the administrator must be able to evaluate these systems in terms that are relevant to the organization. (Author/MLW)

The use of computerized decision support systems in higher education for making tactical institutional decisions is reviewed, with attention to the kind of administrative problems that lie somewhere between programmed to nonprogrammed decisions and require a combination of computer support and administrative judgment. (MSE)

The evolution of executive reporting and decision support systems at the University of Hartford is described, including a definition of concepts, discussion of the decision support roles of the planning and institutional research office and computer service, a description of several systems already developed, and the strategies underlying…

Institutional strategic decisions require the participation of every individual with a significant stake in the solution, and group decision support systems are being developed to respond to the political and consensual problems of collective decision-making. (MSE)

The University Information Center has transformed data retrieval and reporting from a slow process performed by high-priced technical personnel to an instantaneous service performed by those who need and can define the service required. The result at Indiana University has been improved quality of computing. (Author/MLW)