Contemporary students have a varied set of needs--the "lifecycle" of a typical student may no longer be 4 years of continuous enrollment between the ages of 18 and 22, and many students bring rich and varied experiences with them to college. As institutions strive to allocate resources in ways that provide the most benefit to student…

This concluding chapter discusses the main challenges currently facing institutional research at small- and medium-sized colleges and describes how the field may evolve.

This chapter examines the impact of declining student response rates on surveys administered at small- and medium-sized institutions. The potential for nonresponse bias and its effects are addressed.

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.

This chapter puts forth a model of student-success-focused policy development at small colleges that elucidates the role of the institutional research (IR) professional, highlighting how the breadth of roles and responsibilities that IR professionals serve at these institutions intersect with traditional training and background.

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.

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

This chapter demonstrates the complexity of pedagogical and curricular change as it unfolds through several overlapping phases of increasingly coordinated reflection and action around STEM initiatives at Pomona College. It argues for a networked model of research and practice, drawing on theory and lessons from improvement science and highlighting…

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded the College Sports Project (CSP) in 2003 to focus on academics and athletics within Division III. The CSP includes a longitudinal data collection effort comparing athletes to nonathletes at over 80 Division III institutions in the United States. This chapter draws on the CSP to highlight the challenges small…

The nature of institutional research in small, private colleges is examined. It is suggested that institutional researchers in small colleges are responsible for their own professional development and must generate their own plans and learning situations. (Author/SF)

Essential requisites for managing institutions in a retrenchment economy include: a clear-cut institutional mission, effective student recruiting, adequate self-knowledge, and competent and dynamic leadership. Practical implications of these conditions for administrators and institutional researchers are discussed. (Author/SF)

Bradford College (Massachusetts), a small liberal arts college, used creative planning to revitalize the institution despite fiscal constraints. Decisions and actions since 1981 are reviewed in terms of first steps (revitalizing faculty affairs), finding a new president, reorganizing the curriculum, planning noncurricular changes, and developing…

Montclair State College (New Jersey) is typical of many smaller public campuses that must respond to state mandates for student outcomes assessment, particularly in a community with changing demographics. Montclair's experience suggests lessons for other to ensure fairness for minority students. (Author/MSE)

The experience of Coastal Carolina College (South Carolina) suggests that, although the small college often has the same academic reporting demands for intercollegiate athletics as a large institution, the nature of the institution creates different recordkeeping and reporting challenges. Computerization and active institutional research staff…

Without an institutional research office to look at recruitment and retention programs, DePauw University (Indiana) relies heavily on institutional trend data and comparative information to assess the effectiveness of three initiatives: recruitment of large numbers of minority students, strategic use of financial aid, and use of market…