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…

With the changing landscape in enrollment options for potential community college students, community college administrators are looking for ways to forecast enrollment by using strategic enrollment management models. Today, community colleges' administration is challenged to develop, use, and implement enrollment models that support their…

In an age in which information and data are more readily available than ever, it is critical for higher education institutions to develop tools that can communicate essential information to those who make decisions in an easy-to-understand format. One of the tools available for this purpose is a dashboard, a one- to two-page document that presents…

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…

A microcomputer-based system to analyze both historical funding and current resource allocation patterns helped to prepare for an anticipated budget crisis at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The system also included a module which permitted decision makers to test resource allocation alternatives. (Author/MLW)

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)

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…

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)

The administrative user services instituted at Loyola University of Chicago, which provides administrators with immediate access to computing at low cost, is described. After preliminary training and file initialization, users are responsible for their own data processing. (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)

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)