As tuition rates for higher education rise, universities are under increased pressure from internal and external stakeholders to document outcomes such as graduation rates. To do so, higher education institutions must use data effectively. This paper examines the University of Wisconsin--Stout's (UW-Stout) strategies for data use in the…

This chapter discusses principles that support using data about teaching and learning and offers several strategies particularly well suited for use by institutional researchers at small colleges in helping faculty, staff, and administrators use data on student learning for improvement.

Strong relationships with senior administrators, effective cross-campus collaboration, and efficient use of technology are central to impactful IR in small colleges.

A major effort of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems over the past few years has been the development of information Exchange Procedures (IEP) for a broad spectrum of colleges and universities. The motivation for this effort is the strong belief that the exchange and comparative analysis of data will lead to better…