Building Capacity in Institutional Research and Decision Support in Higher Education

Building Capacity in Institutional Research and Decision Support in Higher Education

Author: Karen L. Webber

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-01-31

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 3319711628

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This book examines the relevant roles, skills and knowledge needed to build the institutional research capacity across the higher education sector globally. The information contained herein will inform IR practitioners, senior level institution officials, and higher education scholars. With a focus on building the capacity of the IR profession, this book’s primary audiences include senior leaders who wish to introduce or strengthen their understanding for effective decision support and staff members who are currently in decision support units and those who wish to serve in this capacity. However, this book also offers detail on the decision support function to higher education scholars who seek to better address how data can inform policy and planning in higher education. Through a broad discussion about the roles and skills of the practitioners, this book will also enumerate the ways in which decision support practitioners can be valued contributors in shaping the future decisions and direction of specific institutions and higher education broadly.


Big Data on Campus

Big Data on Campus

Author: Karen L. Webber

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

Published: 2020-11-03

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1421439034

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Webber, Henry Y. Zheng, Ying Zhou


The Handbook of Institutional Research

The Handbook of Institutional Research

Author: Richard D. Howard

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-06-28

Total Pages: 691

ISBN-13: 1118234510

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Institutional research is more relevant today than ever before as growing pressures for improved student learning and increased institutional accountability motivate higher education to effectively use ever-expanding data and information resources. As the most current and comprehensive volume on the topic, the Handbook describes the fundamental knowledge, techniques, and strategies that define institutional research. The book contains an overview of the profession and its history, examines how institutional research supports executive and academic leadership and governance, and discusses the varied ways data from federal, state, and campus sources are used by research professionals. With contributions from leading experts in the field, this important resource reviews the analytic tools, techniques, and methodologies used by institutional researchers in their professional practice and covers a wide range of topics such as: conducting institutional research; statistical applications; comparative analyses; quality control systems; measuring student, faculty, and staff opinions; and management activities designed to improve organizational effectiveness.


Transformative Experiences in College

Transformative Experiences in College

Author: Neal Christopherson

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2020-11-24

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1498594395

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Transformative Experiences in College: Connections and Community explores the intersection of two concepts: transformative experience in college and the communities in which students learn. Emerging from a five-year longitudinal interview study tracking a panel of 75 students through four years at a selective liberal arts college, this book provides a rich depiction of how aspects of the college community (and the relationships developed within that community) create opportunities for transformative experiences that lead to personal and academic growth. Neal Christopherson argues that transformative experiences in college are primarily the results of interactions with other people and with a broader campus community, documenting the ways in which relationships with faculty, experiences in courses, interaction with peers, and the general institutional environment can generate these experiences. Christopherson also touches on extracurricular and co-curricular activities, the importance of a healthy environment for interacting with difference, and how students transition out of the institution. Scholars of education, sociology, and communication will find this book particularly useful.


Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education

Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education

Author: Karen L. Webber

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-12

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1317694333

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Globalization, demographic shifts, increase in student enrollments, rapid technological transformation, and market-driven environments are altering the way higher education operates today. Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education explores the impact of these changes on decision support and the nature of institutional research in higher education. Bringing together a diverse set of global contributors, this volume covers contemporary thinking on the practices of academic planning and its impact on key issues such as access, institutional accountability, quality assurance, educational policy priorities, and the development of higher education data systems.


Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty

Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty

Author: Vincent A. W. J. Marchau

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-04-04

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 3030052524

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This open access book focuses on both the theory and practice associated with the tools and approaches for decisionmaking in the face of deep uncertainty. It explores approaches and tools supporting the design of strategic plans under deep uncertainty, and their testing in the real world, including barriers and enablers for their use in practice. The book broadens traditional approaches and tools to include the analysis of actors and networks related to the problem at hand. It also shows how lessons learned in the application process can be used to improve the approaches and tools used in the design process. The book offers guidance in identifying and applying appropriate approaches and tools to design plans, as well as advice on implementing these plans in the real world. For decisionmakers and practitioners, the book includes realistic examples and practical guidelines that should help them understand what decisionmaking under deep uncertainty is and how it may be of assistance to them. Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty: From Theory to Practice is divided into four parts. Part I presents five approaches for designing strategic plans under deep uncertainty: Robust Decision Making, Dynamic Adaptive Planning, Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways, Info-Gap Decision Theory, and Engineering Options Analysis. Each approach is worked out in terms of its theoretical foundations, methodological steps to follow when using the approach, latest methodological insights, and challenges for improvement. In Part II, applications of each of these approaches are presented. Based on recent case studies, the practical implications of applying each approach are discussed in depth. Part III focuses on using the approaches and tools in real-world contexts, based on insights from real-world cases. Part IV contains conclusions and a synthesis of the lessons that can be drawn for designing, applying, and implementing strategic plans under deep uncertainty, as well as recommendations for future work. The publication of this book has been funded by the Radboud University, the RAND Corporation, Delft University of Technology, and Deltares.


Global Issues in Institutional Research

Global Issues in Institutional Research

Author: Angel Calderone

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-05-17

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 1118714814

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All around the world, postsecondary institutions are facing competitive environments, declining resources, and changing societal needs. Institutions are affected by globalization, state and local government needs, economic restructuring, information technology, and student and staff mobility. Institutional researchers have a critical role to play in addressing these issues. In this volume, we have embedded the practice of IR as experienced globally. We brought together a discussion that is delivered from multiple perspectives, but fundamentally one that draws from the collaborative efforts of practitioners across borders. By embedding notions of globalization that affect IR, we can engage readers in broad discussions on where we are coming from and where we are heading. This is the 157th volume of this Jossey-Bass quarterly report series. Always timely and comprehensive, New Directions for Institutional Research provides planners and administrators in all types of academic institutions with guidelines in such areas as resource coordination, information analysis, program evaluation, and institutional management.