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Institutional Research
Institutional research has been defined as “research conducted within an institution of
higher education in order to provide information which supports planning, policy formation,
and decision making.1”
Areas of interest and analysis include admissions, financial aid, enrollment management,
student outcomes, staffing, student life, finance, facilities, alumni relations and athletics.
For the purposes of comparison, data relative to these areas is routinely collected and
analyzed from peer institutions.
including:
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS),
Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS),
American Association of University Professors (AAUP),
Higher Education Research Institute (HERI),
Tennessee Independent College and University Association (TICUA),
US News, The Princeton Review, Peterson’s and several others.
Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s (CIRP) Freshmen Survey (each fall), the CIRP Your First College Year survey (in the spring), and the CIRP College Senior Survey (in the spring); also, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) (each year, to freshmen and seniors), and the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) (to faculty on a periodic basis).