Institutional Research Office Research Articles

Utilizing Institutional Research to Influence Improvement of University Staff Activities and to Make Plans for the University : A Case Study of Saga University

We describe two functions of institutional research (IR) by using a case study at Saga University, a national university in Japan. One function is to provide information ; the other is to influence members of the institution. The IR office at our university was established under the office of the president with a directive to analyze and visualize all relevant university-wide data and to support institutional decisions taken on the basis of the obtained information. In this paper, we focus in particular on the influence-related functions of IR because few case studies focusing on these functions have been published. The purpose of IR for influence is to motivate staff members to improve their activities on their own initiative. We also describe the quality indicator (QI) and the two aspects of the key performance indicator (KPI), namely, the performance driver and the outcome. We present how to set the KPIs, utilizing the performance driver, outcome, and QI with respect to the medium-term objective / medium-term plan for our university.

Integrating education resources planning and practice information system to alarm and redeem learners' performance

Good learning quality is not at the end of semester, but middle-term alarming system plays a very important role. It is fortunate that setting the independent Institutional Research Office and the data could be explored in one jointed access. The jointed access can be called 'education resources planning' system which links alarming and consulting system to do data mining and analyses. From ANOVA analysis, we found that the learning confusion ranked first for freshmen. The researchers followed the trail in the integrated learning management system and suggested the policy of eLearning for academic alarming students. Besides, the tutors and the teachers can remind the learners to redeem in the earlier period. The system can shorten the alarm time by sending note to those who are under the safe control limit. And students who need academic higher care can choose when and where to learn flexibly then to improve their performance.

Burden in the Eye of the Beholder: Why Should Administration Care?

This chapter focuses on perspectives of external data reporting and their implications for institutional research offices and campuses as a whole. The authors examine a variety of uses for externally reported data and explore opportunities for using these data more fully across the institution.

The Role of the IR Office: Collaborating Across the Institution

This chapter describes a framework to guide collaboration between institutional research and other campus offices. Three examples are then provided to illustrate how the framework was applied successfully to actual projects.

Relationship between High School Mathematical Achievement and Quantitative GPA

<p>The demand for STEM graduates has increased, but the number of incoming freshmen who declare a STEM major has remained stagnant. High school courses, such as calculus, can open or close the gate for students interested in careers in STEM. The purpose of this study was to determine if high school mathematics preparation was a significant prerequisite for success in the pre-engineering curriculum at the post-secondary level. The College Freshman Survey was administered to a sample of 2,328 incoming freshman students, then their survey responses were matched with the grades and standardized test scores provided by the university’s institutional research office. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to predict quantitative pre-engineering GPA. The most significant predictor of quantitative GPA was adjusted ACT math score. Other significant contributors to the models were calculus, algebra II, trigonometry, and algebra I grades. The results suggest that high school preparation in specific mathematics subjects does have a positive impact on success in pre-engineering education.</p>

Perceptions and Performance of Undergraduate Medical Students in Objective Structured Practical Examinations (OSPE) in Biochemistry at Rak Medical and Health Sciences University (Rakmhsu), UAE

INTRODUCTION: Health educators and accrediting bodies have defined objectives and competencies that medical students need to acquire to become a safe doctor. The present study was done to determine the student perception and satisfaction regarding OSPE as an assessment method of laboratory practical sessions in Biochemistry. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During OSPE sessions hundred MBBS first year students were divided into 3 different batches. These students were asked to rotate around 10 different working stations. Each station designed to complete a task comfortably within 5 minutes. One or two rest stations of 5 minutes are given at end or in between to complete the unfinished writing work. All the students perform the same task in the same time frame. Institutional research and effectiveness office (IRO) gets the student feedbacks on OSPE will inevitably result in the refinement of the OSPE as a tool for learning and evaluation. RESULTS: The study showed that 96.5% students agreed that OSPE questions were linked to the curriculum and 93% of students felt objectives were clear. Eight eight percent students perceived that OSPE covered a wide range of learning outcomes. Ninety five percent felt relevant psychomotor skills were assessed using agreed check list. An 86% and 81% of student perceived that it was conducted fairly and is unbiased. In terms of stress we got mixed response as 50.5% percent of students perceived OSPE to be less stressful and other half felt stressful. Seventy two percent of students agreed OSPE preparation facilitated team work. Ninety percent strongly agreed that exam scores are better and 83% said it is easier to pass. Fifty four percent of the students felt that the time given was too short; especially for procedure stations. Ninety six percent of students felt OSPE should be an integral part of assessment tool for the Biochemistry practical's. CONCLUSION: The current study showed several advantages of OSPE as an objective, structured, unbiased, fair, valid and reliable assessment method. In view of the tremendous advantages, OSPE should be included in summative evaluation to improve student's clinical competence.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jucms.v2i4.12071 Journal of Universal College of Medical Sciences (2014) Vol.02 No.04 Issue 08Page: 54-61

The Gradual Merging of Repository and CRIS Solutions to Meet Institutional Research Information Management Requirements

Much has been said in recent times about the alleged dichotomy between Institutional Repositories (IRs) and Current Research Information Systems (CRISs). According to this highly ideological argument, IRs would be the platforms to support the non- commercial initiative jointly carried out by HEIs – and specifically their Libraries – in order to freely disseminate their research outputs, whereas CRISs would support the whole institutional research information management (RIM) with special emphasis on projects and funding. RIM being an activity oriented towards reporting for research assessment exercises and thus tightly connected to the institutional funding, the support from the Management at HEIs for CRIS implementation and operation and for the Research Office traditionally in charge of such tasks would be much higher than for the much less relevant IR. Moreover, the awareness of researchers and scholars towards such platforms will usually be much higher for the CRIS – from whose accurate and complete depiction of their research activity their salaries will ultimately depend – and it won’t be unusual to collect complaints on the need to ensure that both systems are simultaneously fed with the appropriate, often duplicated information. According to this conception, it is often hard to get the institutional Research Office and Library to work together for improving the end-user experience by enhancing their system interoperability.While much of this may still be happening at a number of HEIs, the general landscape is swiftly evolving and it's not that accurate anymore to describe the RIM system configuration at institutions in such oversimplified terms. CRIS/IR interoperability is now a fairly widespread feature that will allow both platforms to efficiently exchange information and reinforce each other's features, and especially the borders between what each of these platforms is and does are becoming increasingly blurred. Commercial CRISs are gradually becoming compliant with the OAI-PMH protocol and thus becoming able to offer institutions an integrated repository functionality, while the main open source IR platforms have now developed extended data models that will allow them to deliver features traditionally associated to CRISs such as project and funding management, hence becoming suitable solutions for research institutions where purchasing or developing a highly-sophisticated CRIS is not a top priority.This paper aims to describe the areas where CRIS/IR interoperability is taking place, and will provide a set of use cases for institutional research information system configuration involving IRs, CRISs and a combination of both. These will show how both systems are now increasingly merging for best serving institutions and their researchers.

Research universities as knowledge networks: the role of institutional research

This article focuses on the elaboration of institutional research practice, which is an important element of any research university. The study addresses three questions. First, how did institutional research arise, and what is its raison d'être in a research university? Second, how can institutional research contribute to the improvement of the research university? And third, what are the most viable alternatives regarding the structure, staffing, and responsibilities of the institutional research office? To answer these questions, the article will draw on the historical and current state of institutional research data from different countries derived from an extensive literature review and several case studies conducted while launching and running the institutional research office at a newly established research university, the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia.

Using Geospatial Information Systems for Strategic Planning and Institutional Research for Higher Education Institutions

This article discusses the implementation and use of Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) at The University of Texas at Dallas in the Office of Strategic Planning and Analysis (OSPA). Many institutional research offices primarily focus on traditional statistical and analytical tools to provide data for assessing, developing, or modifying institutional policies. However, by adding an additional facet such as location, more in depth analysis can be provided on a wide array of research topics. The article focuses on how the Office of Strategic Planning and Analysis utilizes Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) for a wide array of tasks. GIS is used currently by the department for facility information, tracking logistics through the university, benchmarking and for operational information for the university. In addition GIS can be used for admissions and recruiting, alumni giving, emergency management as well as homeland security purposes. In this article the requirements for using GIS in an institutional research or strategic planning office is addressed as well as some pitfalls and advantages to using such applications to perform institutional research in addition to providing data that can be used for institutional operations.

The benefits of a comprehensive, integrated, and granular data system for community and technical college institutional research

AbstractA comprehensive, integrated, and granular data system provides significant benefits for a state system institutional research office.

経営支援機能としての経営情報システムの必要性に関する実証分析--米国のインスティテューショナル・リサーチに注目して

経営支援機能としての経営情報システムの必要性に関する実証分析--米国のインスティテューショナル・リサーチに注目して

Laying the foundation: Institutional research office organization, staffing, and career development

AbstractAppropriate staffing is critical to effective institutional research, yet most institutional research offices are chronically understaffed. How many and what types of staffing are needed for the ideal institutional research office, and how can it be achieved?

Sector differences in the role of institutional research in informing decision making and governance in higher education

The intent of the authors in preparing this paper is to compare and contrast the roles of Institutional Research in informing decision making and governance in higher education. Using a case study format the authors will provide an example of a research project conducted within each of the following sectors of United States higher education system: private 4-year not for profit, public major research institutions/private specialized institutions, and a pubic state university system. The first case study from the private sector will feature a mixed methodology study that used data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and student focus groups to explore student engagement at this institution and inform faculty development. The second case study will compare the use of data for decision making from the standpoint of large public research institutions and private specialized institutions. The third case study from a state university system focuses on recent initiatives in the public sector to inform the public, the institutions, the State, and the federal government using data from institutional research offices, student engagement surveys, and student learning assessments shared through consortia and national associations. These examples will be discussed within the structure of decision making and governance in higher education.

Using college board data to examine trends in New Hampshire's college‐bound students

AbstractSystem‐level institutional research offices can provide administrators and policymakers with important analysis in support of their mission.

The foundations and evolution of institutional research

AbstractDo all institutional research offices look alike? This chapter examines the size, function, and structure of institutional research activities and offices across the United States.

Institutional research and external reporting: The major data seekers

AbstractExternal reporting responsibilities generally fall under the domain of the Institutional Research office, including mandatory data submissions as well as voluntary surveys.

Accreditation and institutional research: The traditional role and new dimensions

AbstractInstitutions are increasingly called on to supply evidence that their educational mission is being achieved. The accreditation self‐study is one opportunity to exploit the expertise of the institutional research office in collecting important data for institutional improvement.

Introduction: Why are data on facilities important?

AbstractThis chapter gives a broad overview of why data on facilities are important to universities and why institutional research offices are often involved with managing and using facilities data.

Metrics and meaning for environmental sustainability

AbstractIndicators of environmental performance are complex, critical, and increasingly in demand. Colleges and universities will be best served by focusing on core indicators and collaboration between sustainability and institutional research offices.

Expanding the role of institutional research at small private universities: A case study in enrollment management using data mining

AbstractThis case study documents a successful application of data‐mining techniques in enrollment management through a partnership between the admissions office, a business administration master's‐degree program, and the institutional research office at Willamette University (Salem, Oregon).